Progress of molecular pathogenesis of extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma

Extranodal nature killer/T cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) is a highly aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with a high mortality. ENKTCL is epidemic in Asia and Latin America, especially in China, Japan and South Korea. EBV has been proved to be associated closely with ENKTCL; however, specific molecular mechanism which can explain how the neoplasm develops is still unclear. Chinese population seems to be more susceptible to this lymphoma and Chinese scientists have made great contributions to the pathogenesis and the treatments of ENKTCL. This review mainly introduces the recent progress of molecular pathogenesis of ENKTCL. Key words: Lymphoma, extranodal NK-T-cells; Molecular pathogenesis