According to rare studies, the age at EBV primary infection (PI) has recently risen in some developed countries. A later age at infection is generally considered a risk factor for severe EBV PI, although few studies exist on this subject. Our investigation aimed to determine whether EBV seroprevalence and EBV PI epidemiology have evolved in France, and to what extent age and infection intensity (regarding biological parameters) are correlated. We conducted a retrospective study of the following EBV serological tests databases: tests carried out at Grenoble University Hospital (2000–2016) (n = 53,553); and tests carried out by a network of city laboratories in Grenoble area (2008–2015) (n = 27,485). The hospital population showed a continuous, significant decrease in EBV seroprevalence over the studied period for patients aged 20 and over (p<0.01). The seroprevalence also decreased for different age classes (<10, 15–19, 20–30, and 30–40 years old) over the periods 2001–2005, 2006–2010, and 2011–2015. Consistently, the age at PI was significantly higher in the years 2008–2015 than in the years 2001–2007 (15.6±12.0 vs. 13.7±11.0; p = 0.03). The city laboratory population showed the same trend of decreasing seroprevalence (p = 0.06); no significant variations in age at PI were observed. The age at PI was positively correlated with ASAT, ALAT, γGT, and bilirubin blood levels (p<0.01) and negatively correlated with platelet counts (p<0.05). In the last 15 years, the age at EBV PI has increased, whereas seroprevalence has decreased. Moreover, our findings confirm the positive correlation between age and biological abnormalities. Taken together, these results suggest that the incidence of severe EBV PI will increase in the future.

Background. Voriconazole long-term therapy is suspected to induce cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), as suggested by 18 case reports worldwide and 3 retrospective studies. Methods. To better characterize the natural history of these potentially voriconazole-associated tumors, a nationwide call for notification of skin cancers and other skin lesions observed between 2002 and 2012 in patients treated by voriconazole was launched in France. A multidisciplinary committee evaluated voriconazole involvement in each case. Results. Nineteen SCCs were reported. The committee determined the likelihood of voriconazole involvement to be high in 15 cases, intermediate in 2, and low in 2. In the 17 patients with high/intermediate likelihood of voriconazole involvement, the mean time between voriconazole initiation and SCC diagnosis was 39 ± 18 months (range, 28–84 months), and was shorter in transplant recipients (35 vs 45 months, P < .05). Cumulative mean duration of voriconazole therapy at SCC diagnosis was 35 months (range, 7–63 months). A multistep process was noted in 14 of 17 patients: acute phototoxicity during the first year of voriconazole therapy (mean time, 6 months [range, 0–18 months]), actinic keratosis (AK) of the same sun-exposed skin area in the second/third year (mean, 30 months [range, 11–57 months]), followed by SCC during the third year or later. Five cases of AK without SCC and 37 cases of other skin lesions were also reported. Conclusions. Our results suggest that long-term voriconazole prescription may be associated with a multistep phototoxic process involving acute skin lesions followed by AK then by SCC. Discontinuation of voriconazole should be strongly considered in patients experiencing chronic phototoxicity.

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is an oncogenic virus infecting more than 95% of the world’s population. After primary infection—responsible for infectious mononucleosis in young adults—the virus persists lifelong in the infected host, especially in memory B cells. Viral persistence is usually without clinical consequences, although it can lead to EBV-associated cancers such as lymphoma or carcinoma. Recent reports also suggest a link between EBV infection and multiple sclerosis. In the absence of vaccines, research efforts have focused on virological markers applicable in clinical practice for the management of patients with EBV-associated diseases. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is an EBV-associated malignancy for which serological and molecular markers are widely used in clinical practice. Measuring blood EBV DNA load is additionally, useful for preventing lymphoproliferative disorders in transplant patients, with this marker also being explored in various other EBV-associated lymphomas. New technologies based on next-generation sequencing offer the opportunity to explore other biomarkers such as the EBV DNA methylome, strain diversity, or viral miRNA. Here, we review the clinical utility of different virological markers in EBV-associated diseases. Indeed, evaluating existing or new markers in EBV-associated malignancies or immune-mediated inflammatory diseases triggered by EBV infection continues to be a challenge.