Abstract
Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiological agent for adult T-cell leukemia. The geographic distribution of HTLV-1 carriers is quite uneven in Japan and the greatest prevalence is in southwestern Japan. Because many people move from endemic areas to the greater Tokyo area, the geographic distribution might have changed. Therefore, we investigated the factors predisposing to HTLV-1 infection, including birthplace, for 88 HTLV-1-infected individuals in greater Tokyo who visited our outpatient clinic. Of these, 39.5% were born in endemic areas, which include Kyushu/Okinawa, south Shikoku, Kii, Tohoku, and Hokkaido, whereas 38.3% were born in greater Tokyo and the proportion is presumed to be increasing. Half of the HTLV-1 infected individuals in greater Tokyo came from endemic areas, whereas around half of the remaining half was presumed to be involved in sexual transmission from a spouse from an endemic area. Overall, they constituted approximately 70% of the HTLV-1 carriers in greater Tokyo. These migration effects may increase the prevalence of HTLV-1 in the greater Tokyo area; nationwide surveillance is warranted.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Yoshida M, Miyoshi I, Hinuma Y. Isolation and characterization of retrovirus from cell lines of human adult T cell leukemia and its implication on the disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1982;79:428–37.
Osame M, Usuku K, Izumo S, et al. HTLV-I associated myelopathy, a new clinical entity. Lancet. 1986; 1031–2.
Mochizuki M, Watanabe T, Yamaguchi K, et al. HTLV-1 uveitis: a distinct clinical entity caused by HTLV-1. Jpn J Cancer Res. 1992;83:236–9.
Kinoshita K, Yamanouchi K, Ikeda S, et al. Oral infection of a common marmoset with human T-cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I) by inoculating fresh human milk of HTLV-I carrier mothers. Jpn J Cancer Res. 1985;76:1147–53.
Hino S. Primary prevention of adult T cell leukemia (ATL) in Nagasaki, Japan by refraining from breast-feeding. In: Sugamura K, Uchiyama T, Matsuoka M, et al., editors. “Gann Monograph on Cancer Research”, No 50. Tokyo: Japan Science Society Press; 2003. p. 241–51.
Stuver S, Tachibana N, Okayama A, et al. Heterosexual transmission of human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I among married couples in southwestern Japan: an initial report from Miyazaki cohort study. J Infect Dis. 1993;167:57–65.
Iga M, Okayama A, Stuver S, et al. Genetic evidence of transmission of human T cell lymphoma virus type I between spouses. J Infect Dis. 2002;185:691–5.
Proietti FA, Carneiro-Proietti ABF, Catalan-Soares BC, et al. Global epidemiology of HTLV-1 infection and associated disease. Oncogene. 2005;24:6058–68.
Tajima K. The T- and B-cell malignancy study group and co-authors. The fourth nation-wide study of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) in Japan: estimates of risk of ATL and its geographical and clinical. Int J Cancer. 1990;45:237–43.
Shimoyama M, Ota K, Kikuchi M, et al. Chemotherapeutic results and prognostic factors in patients with advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treated with VEPA and VEPA-M. J Clin Oncol. 1988;6:128–41.
Tobinai K, Shimoyama M, Minato K, et al. Japan Clinical Oncology Group phase II trial of second-generation “LSG4 protocol” in aggressive T-and B-lymphoma: a new predictive model for T-and B-lymphoma. Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol. 1994;13:378. (abstr).
Tsukasaki K, Tobinai K, Shimoyama M, et al. Deoxycoformycin containing combination chemotherapy for adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma: Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study (JCOG9109). Int J Hematol. 2003;77:164–70.
Taguchi H, Kinoshita K, Takatsuki K, et al. An Intensive chemotherapy of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma: CHOP followed by etoposide, videsine, ranimustine, and mitoxantrone with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support. J Acquir Immune Syndr Hum Retrovirol. 1996;12:182–6.
Yamada Y, Tomonaga M, Fukuda H, et al. A new G-CSF-supported combination chemotherapy, LSG15, for adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma: Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study 9303. Br J Haematol. 2001;113:375–82.
Tsukasaki K, Utsunomiya A, Fukuda H, et al. VCAP-AMP-VECP compared with biweekly CHOP for adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma: Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study JCOG9801. J Clin Oncol. 2007;25:5458–64.
Utsunomiya A, Miyazaki Y, Takatsuka Y, et al. Improved outcome of adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2001;27:15–20.
Kami M, Hamaki T, Miyakoshi S, et al. Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. Br J Haematol. 2003;120:304–9.
Fukushima T, Miyazaki Y, Honda S, et al. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation provides sustained long-term survival for patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. Leukemia. 2005;19:829–34.
Okamura J, Utsunomiya A, Tanosaki R, et al. Allogeneic stem-cell transplantation with reduced conditioning intensity as a novel immunotherapy and antiviral therapy for adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. Blood. 2005;105:4143–5.
Maeda Y, Furukawa M, Takehara Y, et al. Prevalence of possible adult T-cell leukemia virus-carriers among volunteer blood donors in Japan: a nation-wide study. Int J Cancer. 1984;33:717–20.
Yamaguchi K, Nishimura Y, Kusumoto Y, et al. Declining trends of HTLV-1 prevalence among blood donors in Kumamoto, Japan. J AIDS. 1992;5:533–4.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Uchimaru, K., Nakamura, Y., Tojo, A. et al. Factors predisposing to HTLV-1 infection in residents of the greater Tokyo area. Int J Hematol 88, 565–570 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-008-0209-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-008-0209-x