title: Characterization of ELISA detection of broad-spectrum anti-Epstein-Barr virus antibodies associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC). A distinct seroreactivity pattern to EBV is predictive of subsequent risk of sporadic and familial nasopharyngeal carcinomas. There are currently no accepted screening tools for guiding the clinical management of individuals at high-risk for nasopharyngeal carcinomas, particularly unaffected relatives from nasopharyngeal carcinoma multiplex families. Therefore, the reproducibility of a panel of largely synthetic peptide-based anti-EBV antibody ELISAs was evaluated and their ability to distinguish nasopharyngeal carcinoma cases from controls was explored. IgG and IgA antibodies against 6 different EBV antigens (10 assays, total) were tested on sera from 97 individuals representing the full spectrum of anti-EBV seroprevalence (i.e., healthy individuals with no known EBV seroreactivity, healthy individuals with known EBV seroreactivity, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma cases). Each specimen was tested in triplicate to assess within-batch and across-batch variation, and the triplicate testing was repeated on two separate days. Reproducibility was assessed by the coefficients of variation (CVs) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). All markers were detectable in 17% or more of samples. For all but one marker, the overall, within-batch, and across-batch CVs were below 15%, and the ICCs were above 70% for all but three markers. Sensitivity of these markers to detect prevalent nasopharyngeal carcinomas ranged from 22% to 100%, and among unaffected controls, most distinguished those with and without known seropositivity. In conclusion, a large number of EBV markers can be measured reliably in serum samples using peptide-based anti-EBV ELISAs.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Department of Health and Human Services, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Middeldorp
authors.forename: Kelly J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Hedy
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Juwana
authors.forename: Wan-Lun
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Pei-Jen
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Cheng-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jen-Yang
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Mei-Ying
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ruth M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.forename: Chien-Jen
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hildesheim
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D002277:Carcinoma; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G