The role of Epstein-Barr virus infection in human
malignancies
Lawrence S. Young
Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies University of
Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham, B15 2TT, U.K.
The geographical distribution of Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL), a common cancer affecting children in equatorial Africa originally described by Denis Burkitt in 1958, was found to be dependent on climatic and geographical conditions leading to the suggestion that a vector-borne virus might be responsible (Burkitt, 1958; Burkitt, 1962). In 1964 Epstein, Achong and Barr identified herpesvirus-like particles by electron microscopy in a cell line established from a BL biopsy (Epstein et al., 1964). [>Read full article in PDF]