Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

Cancer 1974 Oct;34(4):1080-9

The search for a viral agent in Hodgkin's disease.

Hirshaut Y, Reagan RL, Perry S, De Vita V Jr, Barile MF

Methods previously employed to implicate viral agents and mycoplasma in the etiology of leukemia and Burkitt's lymphoma were employed in a search for the cause of Hodgkin's disease. In a prospective study of 26 patients, 34% had evidence of ¿C-type¿ particles in tissues or plasma pellets. No budding virus was seen. Antibody to the herpes-like virus (HLV or EBV) was as prevalent in normal controls as in patients with Hodgkin's disease and the frequency of elevated anti-HLV titers was similar. No mycoplasma was found in 41 specimens from 27 patients examined. There is no firm evidence to date linking Hodgkin's disease to the viruses known to be responsible for animal leukemias or to HLV which is suspected to be the cause of Burkitt's lymphoma. Mycoplasma, a common contaminant in leukemia tissue, is rarely present in the malignant tissues of patients with Hodgkin's disease.