Pathologic material from patients identified to be seropositive for HTLV-I is reviewed and correlated with clinical and epidemiologic features of disease. Material is derived from patients in the United States as well as other parts of the world. Where possible, immunologic phenotyping of the lymphomas is performed and tumor DNA is directly analyzed for viral genome. In selected populations where HTLV-I is endemic, such as Jamaica, prospective studies of all newly diagnosed lymphoma patients are conducted. Such studies are useful in identifying the clinicopathologic spectrum of HTLV-I associated diseases. Prospective studies of all lymphomas in similar geographic regions with differing incidences of adult T cell leukemia/lymphomas are studies to discern factors which make a n impact on the incidence of HTLV-I and HTLV-I associated diseases.
