Human papillomavirus and Epstein-Barr virus in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a non-endemic eastern european population
Abstract:
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare malignancy in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with the standardized incidence rate of This case was positive for high-risk HPV by ISH and the DNA PCR confirmed the presence of HPV18 type. At the same time, this case was found negative for EBV. Remaining sixty-one cases that were scored as p16-negative were all found HPV-negative by ISH and the DNA PCR. EBV was detected in 85.5% (53/62) of cases and 9 cases were EBV-negative, including the case of keratinizing NPC. In contrast with previous reports on the prevalence of EBV-positivity in Caucasian patients with NPC, the majority of patients coming from this non-endemic region show EBV-positivity; therefore, they may be candidates for novel EBV-targeting therapies. Conversely, HPV-positive NPC is very rare and HPV does not seem to play a significant role in the etiopathogenesis of NPC in these Eastern European populations.