[Virological studies on Epstein-Barr virus-positive gastric carcinoma]

An increasing number of reports have suggested the association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with a subpopulation of gastric adenocarcinomas, mainly based on the PCR, in situ hybridization and Southern blot studies. Further virological and immunological analyses revealed that latent EBV gene expression in EBV-positive gastric carcinoma is highly selective and thus more closely resembles that in Burkitt's lymphoma than the majority of nasopharyngeal carcinomas, which would be advantageous for the tumor cells to evade effective virus-specific immunity. On the basis of data including ours, the possible EBV infection and oncogenic mechanisms of normal gastric epithelia are also discussed.