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Review
. 2017 Sep;36(3):435-447.
doi: 10.1007/s10555-017-9693-x.

Progression of understanding for the role of Epstein-Barr virus and management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Yosuke Nakanishi  1 , Naohiro Wakisaka  1 , Satoru Kondo  1 , Kazuhira Endo  1 , Hisashi Sugimoto  1 , Miyako Hatano  1 , Takayoshi Ueno  1 , Kazuya Ishikawa  1 , Tomokazu Yoshizaki  2
Affiliations
Review

Progression of understanding for the role of Epstein-Barr virus and management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Yosuke Nakanishi et al. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2017 Sep.

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is very common in southern China and Southeast Asia. In regions where NPC is endemic, undifferentiated subtypes constitute most cases and are invariably associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, whereas the differentiated subtype is more common in other parts of the world. Undifferentiated NPC is a unique malignancy with regard to its epidemiology, etiology, and clinical presentation. Clinically, NPC is highly invasive and metastatic, but sensitive to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT). Overall prognosis has dramatically improved over the past three decades because of advances in management, including the improvement of RT technology, the broader application of chemotherapy, and more accurate disease staging. Despite the excellent local control with modern RT, distant failure remains a challenging problem. Advances in molecular technology have helped to elucidate the molecular pathogenesis of NPC. This article reviews the contribution of EBV gene products to NPC pathogenesis and the current management of NPC.

Keywords: Alternating chemoradiotherapy; Epstein-Barr virus; LMP1; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The role of EBV-encoded RNAs and proteins in the development of NPC
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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