In Search of a Hodgkin's Disease Virus

Hodgkin's disease is often regarded as a neoplasia arising from an infectious cause. This idea originated from histologic studies of an unusual mixed cellular reaction. Some epidemiologic studies subsequently pointed in the same direction. First, there were reports of Hodgkin's disease clusters, soon criticized as attributable to chance. Then, another type of epidemiologic study found a higher than expected incidence of Hodgkin's disease in persons with a history of infectious mononucleosis and in members of more advantaged socioeconomic groups. Members of these socioeconomic groups are presumably exposed to a causative virus later in life because of smaller families, a lower.