EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disorder involving the gastrointestinal tract which mimic IBD in immunocompetent patients: case reports and literature review.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoproliferative diseases (LPD) with digestive tract involvement in immunocompetent patients is rather rare. Since the symptoms of EBV-associated LPD involving the gastrointestinal tract in immunocompetent patients are similar to those of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), most patients are initially misdiagnosed. CASE PRESENTATION In this paper, we present two cases of EBV-associated T cell LPD involving the colon in immunocompetent patients and review the relevant literature. CONCLUSION: EBV serological testing may help in detecting this disease, and our findings suggest that histopathological evidence of EBV, such as the Epstein-Barr encoding region, is very important to establish the diagnosis.