Presence of simian virus 40 in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas in Tunisia correlates with germinal center B-cell immunophenotype, t(14;18) translocation, and P53 accumulation

Previously we have reported the presence of simian virus 40 DNA in 56% of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas in Tunisia. Here, we investigated the relationship between the status of simian virus 40 and t(14; 18) translocation, germinal center status, and P53 and BCL2 expression to assess the clinical and biological relevance of simian virus 40 presence in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Therefore, we evaluated by immunohistochemistry the expression patterns of CD10, BCL6, MUM1, BCL2, and P53 in 86 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (48 simian virus 40-positive and 38 simian virus 40-negative cases). The t(14;18) translocation was investigated by polymerase chain reaction. Immunostaining patterns for CD10, BCL6, and MUM1 were used to subclassify diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cases as germinal center or non-germinal center phenotypes. Germinal center phenotype, t(14;18), P53, and BCL2 expression were found in 71, 30, 55, and 65% of cases, respectively. Interestingly, germinal center phenotype, t(14;18), and P53 accumulation were found to be more frequent in simian virus 40-positive cases than in simian virus 40-negative ones (81, 44, 69 vs 58, 13, 37%; P = 0.018, 0.002, and 0.003, respectively). However, there were no correlations between the presence of simian virus 40 and the expression of CD10, BCL6, MUM1 and BCL2, patient's age and gender, clinical stage, or the International Prognosis Index. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the germinal center phenotype, P53 accumulation, and t(14;18) were independent factors for simian virus 40 association (P = 0.029, 0.006, and 0.014, respectively). There were no significant differences in overall survival regarding P53, BCL2, or t(14;18) status. However, patients with germinal center phenotype or low International Prognosis Index scores displayed a significantly better survival than those with non-germinal center phenotype or high International Prognosis Index scores (P = 0.003 and 0.0001, respectively). These two prognosis factors remain independent in multivariate analyses (P = 0.001 and < 0.0001, respectively). Interestingly, among patients with germinal center phenotype, simian virus 40-positive subgroup displayed a significantly shorter survival than simian virus 40-negative subgroup (P = 0.034). In summary, these findings support a role of simian virus 40 in the pathogenesis of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. On other hand, they suggest that a significant proportion of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cases with germinal center phenotype may result from early transformation by simian virus 40, mainly those harboring the t(14;18).