Regression Of Burkitt's Lymphoma In Association With Measles Infection
Bluming, A. Z., & Ziegler, J. L. (1971). Regression of Burkitt's lymphoma in association with measles infection. Lancet (London, England), 2(7715), 105–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(71)92086-1
View Original Source →Case Details
Disease Location
Right orbit
Personal Characteristics
8 -year-old male african
Clinical Characteristics
Admitted on dec 1, 1970 with a four months history of painless right orbital swelling 6 months before admission, a much smaller righ orbital mass had been excised at another hospatiential. At that time, the clinical diagnosis was lipoma, although no histological exams were performed on dec 1, physical exam was remarkable only for right-sided proptosis with conjunctival adema, loss of vision, and absence of all estraocular movements on the right side biopsy of the right retro-orbital tumor was taken on dec 3 and was histological diagnosed as burkitt's lymphoma on dec 13, before any therapy, the patient was noted to have generalized mealses exanthem on the same day the right orbital tumor was noted to be regression attempatiented sensitization to topical dinitrochlorobenzene applied on january 9 was unsuccessful at the time of challenge on february 4, and april 12
Remission Characteristics
On dec 13, the orbital mass was noted to be regressing. Over the course of the next two weeks, both the exanthem and the tumor disappeared. Measle-antibody titres were absent on dec 16, 1/64 on january 8, and 1/16 on march 5. The patient remains in complete remission 4 months after the measles infection immunological evaluation on january 9 and april 12 found no reaction to any antigens (intermediate strength ppd, stretokinase-stretodornase, mumps antigen, and dermatophyton o) iliac-crest bone marrow aspirations on dec 20 and january 11 disclosed normal cellularity with 20% to 22% erythrocyte precursors, only 7% lymphocytes was found in the first aspirate, this figure rose to 28% during the three-week period preceding the second marrow aspirate remission lasted 16 weeks to date
Treatment & Mechanisms
Proposed Remission Mechanisms
Immunological reaction destruction of the tumor cells by measles virus is a possibility measles virus infection stimulated production of endogenous lymphocidal substances, such as adrenocorticosteroid hormoness measles-induced interferon might have been responsible measles might have induced blastic transformation in vitro, it might effect an antitumor response by stimulating reactivity against tumor antigen in an early stage, the tumor cells are really non-malignant immunocytes responding to an as yet indentified stimulus, measles might have suppressed this reactivity. A more probable explanation is based on rejection of measles/tumor-cell antigenic complex -- cells infected by viruses with lipoprotein coats have been shown to form filamentous microvilli containing viral antigen
Clinical Treatment
None reported
Non-Clinical Treatment
Measles?