Most importantly, patients with EBV infection with c.985+75G>A mutation in ITK had lower survival rates than ITK <sup>-</sup> mutation group which it may be related with cellular immune dysfunction.
A germline mutation in interleukin-2-inducible T-cell kinase (ITK) is described in individuals manifesting B-cell LPDs, cHL, and hemophagocytic syndromes following Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection.
BTK and ITK are cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases of crucial importance for B and T cell development, with loss-of-function mutations causing X-linked agammaglobulinemia and susceptibility to severe, frequently lethal, Epstein-Barr virus infection, respectively.