Biggar, R.J.Nkrumah, F.K.Henle, W.Levine, P.H.2013-06-122017-10-162013-06-122017-10-161981Biggar, R. J., Nkrumah, F. K., Henle, W., & Levine, P. H. (1981). Very late relapses in patients with burkitt's lymphoma: Clinical and serologic studies. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 66(3), 439-444.http://197.255.68.203/handle/123456789/3084Of 117 patients in remission for at least 12 months after chemotherapy for confirmed Burkitt's lymphoma, 14 subsequently relapsed. Frequency of ever relapsing in this group varied from 12% 2 years after chemotherapy to 3–8% 3–6 years after chemotherapy. Risk of very late relapse (VLR) increased with the occurrence of meningeal disease and/or relapse before a remission of 12 months or more was achieved. The use of combination chemotherapy and especially prophylactic intrathecal methotrexate significantly lowered the risk of VLR (P<0.03). Serial testing for antibodies to Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen to the diffuse and restricted components of the early antigen complex and to the Epstein-Barr virus-specific nuclear antigen revealed minor fluctuations but no consistent increases in antibody titers preceding detection of VLR. The serologic follow-up tests thus were not clinically useful for prediction of the imminence of a recurrence. Patients developing VLR generally maintained moderate-to-high titers of antibodies to restricted or diffuse components throughout the long remission periods, which indicated that they were not beyond the danger of a relapse at an unspecified time in the future.enArticle