Relationship between the Epstein-Barr virus genome and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Caucasian patients

In order to explore whether undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) shows a regular association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), regardless of the geographical and ethnic origin of the patient, a correlated histopathological and nucleic acid hybridization study was performed on biopsies from Caucasian patients with nasopharyngeal carcinomas and from various controls. Among 12 undifferentiated NPCs, 11 were positive for EBV-DNA, with multiple copies of the viral genome per cell. Serological tests showed elevated anti-VCA and anti-EA(DA) titers. Six NPCs with various degrees of squamous differentiation, four malignant lymphomas of the nasopharynx and seven carcinomas located outside the nasopharynx were EBV-DNA negative. These findings further stress the uniqueness and regularity of the association between EBV-DNA and undifferentiated NPC. Clearly, the association extends over geographical barriers and holds true not only in the previously studied, moderate-incidence African ethnic group, but also in the low-incidence Western patients.