Patients with Plasma Cell Disorders Have High EBV DNA in Peripheral Blood than the General Population

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is involved in the development of a wide range of B cell lympho-proliferative disorders. Its association with plasma cell disorders (PCD) however is not clear, especially in immunocompetent patients. To explore any relationship, 39 patients of suspected PCD with positive M-band on electrophoresis and 50 healthy controls were enrolled. EBV DNA in peripheral blood was quantified using quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). Of 39 patients, 15 (38.5%) had EBV DNA compared to 8/50 (16%) controls ( p = 0.0008 ). The mean viral copy number was found to be significantly high in patients compared to controls (1.8 × 10 5 ; range = 2.6 × 10 3 –7.6 × 10 5 copies/ml and 1.7 × 10 4 ; range = 7.0 × 10 2 –6.1 × 10 4 copies/ml respectively; p = 0.003 ). This is the first study, which characterizes the frequency of EBV in circulation in patients of PCD. The significance of increased prevalence of circulating EBV and a higher viral load in our immunocompetent patients however, needs further evaluation.