title: Genotypic analysis of Epstein-Barr virus isolates associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Chinese immigrants to the United States.
abstract: EBV genotypes of first- and second-generation Chinese diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the United States were analyzed by PCR techniques. Previous studies showed a geographical distribution of genotypically distinct sub-types of EBV. Viruses detected at a higher frequency among Chinese NPC patients (Cf) were distinguished from those found in the majority of Caucasian NPC patients (DF) in the United States by polymorphisms in the BamHI F and I regions. Exploiting this distinction, we analyzed the biopsies of Chinese immigrants in the United States for their C/D and F/f genotypes to evaluate the importance of retention of the Cf virus among Chinese NPC patients in a geographical area where the DF virus prevails. This study shows that approximately 45.5 to 50% of first- and second-generation Chinese NPC patients in California harbor the Cf virus, which is present in only 8% of Caucasian NPC patients in California. It is interesting that, while only 48% of the viral isolates from immigrant Chinese to California harbor the "f" variant, 96% harbor the type-C viruses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lung
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Wara
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002140:California; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005838:Genotype; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity