- Young adults who get mononucleosis, the "kissing
disease," have more than double the risk of developing a rare type
of cancer, a Danish study found.
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- Doctors have long suspected a link between mononucleosis
and Hodgkin's disease, a highly treatable cancer of the lymph system. But
the role played by the common virus that causes mono was uncertain. The
virus, Epstein-Barr, is found in about one-third of Hodgkin's tumours.
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- In a study of over 63,000 young adults suspected of having
mono, the researchers found that those who got mono had a higher-than-average
chance of getting Hodgkin's, and the risk lasted for two decades. There
was no increased risk for those who did not have mono.
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- "I think it removes the last shade of doubt that
the virus actually has something to do with causing Hodgkin's disease,"
said Dr. Richard Ambinder of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who was
not involved in the research. "The flip side to that is that everyone's
got the virus, so it can't possibly be the whole story."
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- The Danish researchers stressed that Hodgkin's disease,
also known as Hodgkin's lymphoma, is uncommon. About one in 1,000 of young
adults with mono will get the cancer, they said.
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- "Only in rare circumstances will this lead to the
development of Hodgkin's lymphoma. So there's no reason for any panic,"
said Dr. Mads Melbye, one of the researchers at Statens Serum Institut,
the Danish equivalent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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- The study is reported in Thursday's New England Journal
of Medicine.
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- © 2003 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
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- http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031001.whodg1001/BNStory/International/
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