Burkitt's Lymphoma (BL)

Background

Burkitt’s Lymphoma (BL), also known in older appellations as Small Non-Cleaved Cell Malignant Lymphoma or Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia-L3, is a high-grade, malignant Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. BL’s causation is closely related to the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), which is extremely B-lymphotropic, compromises cell growth regulation, and immortalizes B cells upon infection. On the genetic level, researchers believe that BL is caused by the translocation of the c-Myc gene at position 8q24. The c-Myc gene is then rearranged with an immunoglobulin gene on chromosome 14. BL occurs frequently in children and people with weakened immune systems, which allows EBV to infect more B cells.