title: [Immunoglobulin A serum antibodies against the capsid antigen of Epstein-Barr virus in the differential diagnosis and follow-up of nasopharyngeal cancer].
abstract: IgA antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen (IgA anti-VCA) can be detected in sera of patients with certain types of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). IgA anti-VCA titres were determined by the indirect immunofluorescence technique. 17 control patients with benign diseases or carcinomas of the head and neck other than NPC had negative IgA anti-VCA titres less than or equal to 1:16. NPC was diagnosed histologically according to the Cologne modification of the WHO classification. Among 16 cases of untreated or recurrent NPC, a rare disease in Europe, seen over the past three years, those with undifferentiated carcinomas with and without lymphoid stroma and the non-keratinizing carcinomas with lymphoid stroma were IgA anti-VCA positive (1:32 to 1:512), whereas patients with squamous cell carcinomas were negative. In four cases the primary tumour had not been diagnosed by other ENT doctors in spite of known regional or distant metastases consisting of undifferentiated carcinomas with or without lymphoid stroma. IgA anti-VCA antibodies in the sera of these patients indicated the probable site of the primary tumour. NPC was verified by biopsy in all these cases. In 2 serologically negative patients the original diagnosis of undifferentiated NPC with lymphoid stroma had to be revised to malignant Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In the follow-up of 6 NPC patients the trend of changes in IgA anti-VCA titres correlated with the course of the disease, but the minute tumour-related changes could be detected only when at least two previous sera of the same patient were included in every test.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis*; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007070:Immunoglobulin A
vernacular_title: Immunglobulin-A-Serumantikörper gegen das Kapsidantigen des Epstein-Barr-Virus zur Differentialdiagnose und Verlaufskontrolle des Nasopharynxkarzinoms.