Prognostic value of ebv markers in the clinical management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC): A multicenter follow‐up study

Abstract

Between December 1979 and April 1982, 373 patients with untreated, undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharynx (NPC), 99 in Hong Kong, 120 in Tunis and 154 in Villejuif, entered a longitudinal study aimed at determining the clinical prognostic value of EBV serology after radiotherapy. A minimum of 3 years' follow-up was achieved for 319 patients (83 in Tunis, 95 in Hong Kong and 141 in Villejuif) who had regular clinical and serological testing at intervals of 6-8 months. No significant difference in initial serology (i.e., before any treatment) or variations of antibody titers at time of first follow-up was observed between patients who achieved complete remission after radiotherapy and those who did not. This included IgG and IgA antibodies to VCA, EA or EBNA. However, when patients with confirmed clinical remission 1 year after completion of radiotherapy were studied, the value of IgG/EA and mainly of IgA/EA increasing titers became highly significant for prediction of relapse, regardless of the initial titers. This demonstrated the clinical usefulness of EBV serology for NPC patients who have confirmed clinical remission after radiotherapy.

The Enigmatic Epidemiology of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

“…Subsequent studies showed that NPC patients have elevated IgG and IgA antibody titers to the EBV viral capsid antigen lgA and early antigen, as well as increased IgG against the latent viral nuclear antigens 1 and 2 (EBNA-1, EBNA-2) and neutralizing antibodies against EBV-specific DNase (62)(63)(64)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69)(70)(71)(72)(73)(74). Moreover, these antibody titers, especially of IgA, precede tumor development by several years (75) and are correlated with tumor burden, remission, and recurrence (76)(77)(78)(79)(80)(81)(82)(83)(84). Based on these patterns, antibody against viral capsid antigen is now established as the basis of a screening test for NPC in high-risk populations (85)(86)(87)(88)(89)(90), particularly in combination with anti-EBV DNase antibodies (73,91).…”

EA-D p45-IgG as a Potential Biomarker for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis

“…Hao Chen 1& ,Yao-Ling Luo 1& , Lin Zhang 1 , Li-Zhen Tian 2 , Zhi-Ting Feng 3 , WanLi Liu 1 * commonly used in clinical diagnosis and screening of NPC (Henle et al, 1973;De et al, 1988;Zong et al, 1992). However, the lack of specificity of the VCA-IgA assay and sensitivity of the EA-IgA assay limits their effectiveness in NPC diagnosis.…”

Epstein-Barr Virus Lytic Transactivator Zta Enhances Chemotactic Activity through Induction of Interleukin-8 in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells

“…Elevated antibody titers against EBV lytic antigens, representing EBV reactivation in vivo, correlate with advanced cancer stages, poor prognosis, or tumor recurrence of NPC (21,34). The serologic marker of EBV reactivation also serves as a risk factor of NPC (17).…”