Serum EBV DNA as a biomarker in primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma of Indian origin.
BACKGROUND
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a unique tumor due to its etiology and endemic distribution. Ethnic and regional factors are found to strongly influence the risk of disease; however, there have been no well-conducted studies on Indian patients. The present study assesses the relationship between Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and sporadic Indian NPC and the role of serum EBV DNA in NPC detection.


METHODS
Primers directed against non-polymorphic Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) gene were used to detect the presence of EBV DNA from fresh tissue and serum in NPC, using PCR.


RESULTS
EBV DNA was detected in 69% of the biopsies and 58% of the serum of the NPC patients. With respect to histology, WHO Type III NPC, WHO Type II tumors and WHO I tumors showed 100%, 72.2% and 33% EBV positivity, respectively. EBV positivity was also observed in 23% (6/26) of benign samples. All biopsies of patients with positive serum samples were positive for EBV DNA.


CONCLUSIONS
EBV infection was found in sporadic NPC of South Indian origin, which confirms the etiological role of EBV in NPC. Detection of EBNA-1 in the serum and corresponding tissues of NPC patients suggests that the serum EBV DNA originates from NPC and also indicates the benefit of circulating viral DNA as an early marker in the diagnosis of NPC. Serum DNA-PCR methods can be extrapolated to follow-up studies involving tumor regression or to assess the response to various therapies.
Krishna
Smriti M
SM
Division of Cancer Research, Regional Cancer Center, Kerala, India.
James
Susan
S
Kattoor
Jayasree
J
Balaram
Prabha
P
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000821:virology*
D015415:Biomarkers; D004279:DNA, Viral; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens; C417029:EBV-encoded nuclear antigen 1