Real Time Quantitative PCR as Detection Method for CMV Reactivation in Patients with Lymphomas – a Single-Center Experience

Abstract

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) becomes an important pathogen in individuals whose immune system is compromised like patients with various types of lymphomas. Our goal was to estimate the deal of CMV reactivation in RT PCR during the treatment course, considering the seroprevalence of 49 patients with lymphomas from the Clinic of Hematology “St. Marina” University Hospital, Varna. We used commercial ELISA and quantitative RT-PCR for CMV detection. We found 90% (95% CI: 78.9% - 97%) of the patients anti-CMV IgG positive. In addition, we found 10% (95% CI: 1.6% - 18.3%) of them PCR positive (range 2 332 - 5 688 IU/ml). The highest viral loads were detected in 3 patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), histologic variant “diffuse B-cell giant cell lymphoma”. In conclusion, approximately 10% of pa¬tients with ML reactivate their latent CMV infection during the treatment of the main disease. Because IgM alone cannot serve as a reactivation marker, qRT-PCR is a reliable method for early identification of CMV reactivation and would assist for better management and prevention of complications in this high risk group of patients.