Detection of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in cerebrospinal fluid for diagnosis of AIDS-related central nervous system lymphoma

The diagnostic utility of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA detection in cerebrospinal fluid for the diagnosis at central nervous system lymphoma was evaluated with two different PCR assays to test a collection of cerebrospinal fluid samples from 24 AIDS patients with central nervous system disorders. A PCR assay amplifying a fragment from the BamHI-W region had the highest clinical and analytic sensitivity. The BamHI-W PCR assay detected EBV DNA in cerebrospinal fluid from 83% (5 of 6) of patients with pathologically proven primary, central nervous system lymphoma and 7% (1 of 16) of controls with autopsy-proven nonlymphomatous central nervous system disorders. EBV DNA was also detected in one patient with autopsy-proven systemic lymphoma involving the central nervous system and one patient with probable primary central nervous system lymphoma. EBV DNA was detected consistently when central nervous system lymphoma involved meningeal surfaces. PCR for EBV in cerebrospinal fluid appears to be useful for diagnosis of AIDS-related central nervous system lymphoma, but additional studies are required to better define the sensitivity of the assay and to understand the significance of a positive test in the absence of lymphoma.