Six cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD) were examined for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome, Immunohistochemistry with an antibody against the latent membrane protein antigen (LMP) of EBV, was used in combination with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization technique (ISH).
EBV was detected in 2/6 (33.3%) of the cases using immunohistochemistry with LMP. Internal repeat 1 of EBV DNA was detected in 2/6 (33.3%) of the cases using PCR. ISH with a digoxigeninlabeled EBER-1 oligonucleoid probe achieved positive results in 3/6 (50.0%) of the cases.
Since positive rates and cases differed depending on the method used, EBV should be examined using several different methods.
