Antibody to Epstein-Barr virus-specific DNase in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Sera from 99 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), 17 patients with diseases other than NPC and 24 healthy individuals were examined for their antibody activities to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNase. Most of the sera from NPC patients showed high level of antibody activity even in the stage I of the disease. On the contrary, sera from healthy donors and patients with diseases other than NPC showed only very little or none of the activity. The results strongly suggest that the test for EBV DNase activity could be used for the early diagnosis of NPC.