title: Telomerase assay and nested polymerase chain reaction from nasopharyngeal swabs for early noninvasive detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: The main purpose of this study was to analyze sensitivity and specificity of combining nested polymerase chain reaction for detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome and telomerase assay for identifying nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Eighty patients with NPC and 27 healthy control subjects were included in this study; 97. 5% and 94.9% of NPC patients were positive for EBV genome and telomerase activity, respectively. When nasopharyngeal swabs were tested, 95.7% presented the EBV genome and 85.5% were positive for telomerase expression. The sensitivity for counting either positive result of these two techniques was 100%. Among the 27 control subjects, only 6 and 5 cases were positive for EBV DNA and telomerase activity, respectively. This indicated a specificity of 92.6% when both positive results were included. At present, early diagnosis of NPC requires multiple biopsy specimens, especially to identify subclinical cases. Because this study showed a very high sensitivity for detecting NPC from swabs when combining the telomerase assay and nested polymerase chain reaction technique, this noninvasive technique may be a good candidate for screening of subclinical NPC, especially before multiple biopsy specimens are obtained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kerekhanjanarong
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sitawarin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakdikul
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saengpanich
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chindavijak
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Supiyaphun
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Voravud
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mutirangura
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004279:DNA, Viral; D019098:Telomerase