Discovery of adult T-cell leukemia

• Published in: Retrovirology Vol. 2; no. 1; p. 16
• Main Author: Takatsuki, Kiyoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 02.03.2005; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; History, 20th Century; Human T-lymphotropic virus; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 - isolation & purification; Humans; Japan - epidemiology; Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell - history; Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell - virology; Review; Japan
• ISSN: 1742-4690; 1742-4690
• DOI: 10.1186/1742-4690-2-16

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) was first reported as a distinct clinical entity in 1977 in Japan. The predominant physical findings are skin lesions, lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly. The ATL cells are of mature T-helper phenotype and have a characteristic appearance with indented nuclei. There is striking frequent hypercalcemia with increased numbers of osteoclasts. Central to the identification of the disease is a striking geographic clustering in southwestern Japan and the isolation of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) from the cell lines of patients. Worldwide epidemiological studies have been made through international collaborations. Several diseases were found to be related to HTLV-1 infection. Moreover, it was noted that an immunodeficiency state may be induced by HTLV-1 infection. In Japan, HTLV-1 carriers have been estimated to be 1.2 million, and more than 700 cases of ATL have been diagnosed each year.