Searching for therapeutic synergy in primary effusion lymphoma

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare, fatal form of aggressive B-cell lymphoma caused by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). The disease most commonly occurs in immunocompromised patients, such as those with HIV and the elderly. Because current treatment options are not effective, there is a great need for new PEL therapies.

In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Juan Carlos Ramos and colleagues at the University of Miami used an immunocompromised mouse model of PEL to determine the efficacy of Bortezomib/Vorinostat combination therapy, two drugs that are currently being used to treat multiple myeloma and cutaneous T cell lymphoma, respectively. They found that this treatment combination reactivated virus-induced cell lysis and induced PEL cell death, increasing the lifespan of mice with PEL tumors.

These findings indicate that this drug combination could potentially be beneficial in immunocompromised patients with KSHV-associated malignancies.