Diverse familial malignant tumors and Epstein-Barr virus

Abstract

Continued monitoring of a family for new malignant tumors has revealed diverse immunological and neoplastic disorders during a 15-year period. In 1966, the proband developed lymphoma. In 1975, his antibody titers to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) became elevated, and again, he developed a malignant lymphoma. He also had borderline hypo-immunoglobulin A, died of glioblastoma multiforme in 1977, and at autopsy, had adenomatous colonic polyps. His eldest brother has normal immunoglobulin levels, but developed immune thrombocytopenia in 1973 and had elevated EBV antibody titers in 1980. Another brother had hypo-immunoglobulin A, thymoma in 1965, and adenomas and adenocarcinoma of the colon. Two other brothers succumbed to glioblastoma in 1968 and 1969. The father of the proband had bronchiectasis in 1952, hypo-immunoglobulin M documented in 1972, and elevated EBV antibody titers 5 years preceding development of a malignant lymphoma. The latter contained 10 EBV genome equivalents/cell by EBV viral DNA/DNA reassociation kinetics analysis. The proband's grandmother had died of an immunoglobulin G-secreting myeloma in 1977, and his grandfather had borderline low immunoglobulin M, elevated EBV antibody titers, and hypopharyngeal carcinoma in 1980. Predisposition to oncogenesis in this family was probably inherited.