Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) encodes a wealth of oncogenic instructions, including the abilities
to drive a resting normal B cell to proliferate and to override apoptotic stimuli. EBV is found in
almost all types of lymphomas at varying frequencies. However, the particular viral genes
expressed differ considerably among tumors. We have examined the role of EBV in several
lymphomas by conditionally evicting the extrachromosomal viral genome from tumor cells in
vitro and have found a graded dependence on the virus. Tumor cells that express all the …