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Genetic and epigenetic changes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
1Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology and Institute of Molecular Oncology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, PR, China. kwlo@cuhk.edu.hk
Abstract:
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignancy with remarkable racial and geographic distribution. The development of this EBV-associated cancer likely involves cumulative genetic and epigenetic changes in a background of predisposed genetic and environmental factors. Genome-wide studies have unravelled multiple chromosomal abnormalities with involvement of specific oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. Alterations of genes such as Ras association domain family 1A (RASSF1A), p16/INK4A, p14/ARF suggest that multiple cellular pathways were dysregulated in the NPC cells. Studies on the precancerous lesions revealed early genetic changes and a critical role of EBV latent infection in the development of this cancer. Based on the existing findings, a pathogenetic model for NPC is proposed.