Patogenesi ed epidemiologia dei tumori associati all’infezione da virus di Epstein-Barr

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is one of the most successful human viruses: it is ubiquitous worldwide, and more than 80% of people over the age of 30 show serological evidence of infection. In addition, EBV infection tends to be persistent, so that, once it has occurred, it remains for the lifetime, a feature that is common to many other herpesviral infections. EBV is strongly associated with the development of several cancers, in particular with Burkitt’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and lymphoproliferative disorders which complicate immune suppression conditions. These EBV-associated neoplasms are characterized by peculiar geographic distributions and distinctive epidemiologic features.This review refers to recent advances in the mechanisms of EBV-induced cell transformation, and is focused on the main epidemiological aspects of virus-associated malignancies.