Incidence of Epstein-Barr Virus in Pediatric Leukemia in the Sudan

This study screened 80 pediatric patients with leukemia and 20 healthy controls, from Sudan, for the presence of Epstein Barr virus. Latent membrane,protein 1 (LMP1) gene transcripts were found in 29 (36.3%) of 80 patients but in none of the controls (P<.0001). The high incidence of LMP1 in these patients, strongly suggests the role of Epstein-Barr virus in the etiology of pediatric leukemia in the Sudan. Background: Results of several studies have suggested a probable etiologic association between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and leukemias; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association of EBV in childhood leukemia. Methods: A direct isothermal amplification method was developed for detection of the latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) of EBV in the peripheral blood of 80 patients with leukemia (54 had lymphoid leukemia and 26 had myeloid leukemia) and of 20 hematologically healthy control subjects. Results: EBV LMP1 gene transcripts were found in 29 (36.3%) of the 80 patients with leukemia but in none of the healthy controls (P<.0001). Of the 29 EBV+ cases, 23 (79.3%), 5 (17.3%), and 1(3.4%) were acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, and chronic myeloid leukemia, respectively. Conclusion: EBV LMP1 gene transcriptional activity was observed in a significant proportion of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. EBV infection in patients with lymphoid leukemia may be a factor involved in the high incidence of pediatric leukemia in the Sudan.