Long-term kinetics of proviral load in HTLV-1 carriers: defining risk for the development of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.

Background: Assessment of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) development among human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1)-infected individuals (carriers) constitute a significant issue. A high HTLV-1 proviral load (PVL) in carriers has been used as a risk factor for ATL development and PVLs are considered to remain unchanged over time among carriers.

Methods: This single-center analysis used a cohort from a prospective observational study of HTLV-1 carriers in Japan (JSPFAD).