(or "Burkitt's tumor", or "Malignant lymphoma, Burkitt's type") is a type of
Cancer that is associated with the
Epstein-Barr Virus , also the cause of
Mononucleosis as well as other cancers. It is named after
Denis Parsons Burkitt , a
Surgeon who first described the disease in
1956 while working in equatorial Africa.
Children affected with the disease often also had chronic
Malaria which is believed to have reduced resistance to the virus. This is known as classical African or endemic Burkitt's lymphoma.
Outside of central Africa, a type of
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is found where cancer cells have a similar appearance to the cancer cells of classical African or endemic Burkitt's lymphoma. This condition is known as the non-African or sporadic type of Burkitt's lymphoma. Again it is believed that impaired immunity provides an opening for development of the Epstein-Barr virus. The translocation of the
Myc gene is seen in this lymphoma. (t: 8;14)
Burkitt's lymphoma demonstrates a starry sky appearance due to the macrophage ingestion of tumor cells.
