Abstract
In addition to a few disorders such as acute T-cell leukemia that are typically associated with the human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) 1 in endemic regions, this virus may also play a role in some other hematological diseases. Here, we examine the incidence of HTLV in hematological diseases from a nonendemic region in central Europe. Data obtained by PCR and/or serological techniques from a total of 730 cases showed that besides the expected presence of HTLV-1 in T-lymphoid diseases (2 of 27 cases), HTLV-1 was only detected in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), in which an incidence of 17% (11 of 65 cases) was found. A correlation with a history of multiple transfusions or treatment with blood products in the HTLV-1-positive MDS could not be ascertained. Cytogenetics detected the presence of del(5)(q) in six HTLV-positive cases (five MDS and one T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia) but in only one HTLV-negative case. These data indicate that allelic deletions of a series of 5q-located genes that typically occur in MDS may be associated with HTLV infections in central Europe.
This work was supported by the Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen Nationalbank (Project No. 5179 and 6340) and by the Austrian Ministry of Health.