title: Epstein-Barr virus DNA in nasopharyngeal carcinomas from Chinese patients in Hong Kong.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in Chinese patients living in Hong Kong.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nasopharyngeal biopsy specimens, formalin fixed and paraffin wax embedded, from 24 patients, eight with undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma, eight with well differentiated squamous carcinoma, and eight showing normal tissue histology, were analysed for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA by slot-blot hybridisation on extracted unamplified DNA, and also after amplification of EBV specific sequences by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  DNA slot-blot analysis showed viral DNA in all the undifferentiated, five of the well differentiated tumours, and none of the normal biopsy specimens. PCR studies confirmed positivity in the eight undifferentiated tumours, but six of the well differentiated tumours and three of the normal biopsy specimens showed viral DNA by this method, illustrating its greater sensitivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EBV genome is present in appreciable copy number in most cases of well differentiated NPC in Chinese patients in Hong Kong.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dickens
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Loke
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000382:microbiology*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000382:microbiology*; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D015342:DNA Probes; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000382:microbiology*; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D004279:DNA, Viral