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Epstein‐barr virus detection in nasopharyngeal tissues of patients with suspected nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Author(s) -
Tsai SenTien,
Jin YingTai,
Mann Risa B.,
Ambinder Richard F.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19980415)82:8<1449::aid-cncr3>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - nasopharyngeal carcinoma , in situ hybridization , epstein–barr virus , medicine , polymerase chain reaction , virus , pathology , biopsy , carcinoma , virology , biology , gene , radiation therapy , messenger rna , biochemistry
BACKGROUND Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is strongly associated with Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV). Detection of EBV in biopsy specimens may serve as a tumor marker. METHODS To assess the sensitivity and specificity of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization in the diagnosis of NPC, formalin fixed, paraffin embedded nasopharyngeal biopsies from patients in Taiwan suspected of having NPC were studied. RESULTS In specimens from 107 patients with NPC, EBV was detected by PCR in 97 cases (90.7%) and by EBER in situ hybridization in 105 cases (98.1%). In specimens from 61 patients without neoplasia, EBV was detected by PCR in 7 cases (11.5%) and by EBER in situ hybridization in 0 cases. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that although EBV DNA may occasionally be detected in nonneoplastic nasopharyngeal tissues, cells expressing EBER are not. EBER in situ hybridization may therefore prove to be a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of NPC. Cancer 1998;82:1449‐53. © 1998 American Cancer Society.