Detection of Epstein-Barr virus in lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung.

A case of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung is reported in a Chinese patient with serologic evidence of previous Epstein-Barr (EBV) infection. EBV genomes were detected in the tumor using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization (ISH) from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks. The use of both techniques afforded the exquisite sensitivity of PCR to detect a few copies of EBV DNA with the ability of ISH to precisely localize EBV to the carcinoma, but not to the lymphoid stroma. These findings support a potential oncogenic relationship between EBV and lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung.