Detection of Epstein-Barr Virus DNA in Plasma from Patients with Lymphoproliferative Disease after Allogeneic Bone Marrow or Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation

In the April issue, Limaye and colleagues report on detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in sera from solid-organ transplant recipients with posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) (4). Detection of cell-free EBV DNA appeared to be a sensitive and specific marker for the early detection of PTLD following solid-organ transplantation in this study as well as in another (2). Five of six transplant recipients were shown to have EBV DNA in serum at the time of diagnosis, and in two of three patients for whom stored sera were analyzed EBV DNA was detected 8 and 52 months, respectively, prior to the diagnosis of PTLD.