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Review
. 2022 Dec 20;59(1):2.
doi: 10.3390/medicina59010002.

Updates on Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-Associated Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Emphasis on the Latent Gene Products of EBV

Naveed Ahmed  1 , Mai Abdel Haleem A Abusalah  2 , Anam Farzand  3 , Muhammad Absar  1 , Nik Yusnoraini Yusof  4 , Ali A Rabaan  5   6   7 , Hajir AlSaihati  8 , Amer Alshengeti  9   10 , Sara Alwarthan  11 , Haifa S Alsuwailem  12 , Zainb A Alrumaih  13 , Ahmed Alsayyah  14 , Chan Yean Yean  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Updates on Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-Associated Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Emphasis on the Latent Gene Products of EBV

Naveed Ahmed et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an uncommon type of malignancy/cancer worldwide. However, NPC is an endemic disease in southeast Asia and southern China and the reasons behind the underlying for such changes are unclear. Even though the Epstein-Barr infection (EBV) has been suggested as an important reason for undistinguishable NPC, the EBV itself is not adequate to source this type of cancer. The risk factors, for example, genetic susceptibility, and environmental factors might be associated with EBV to undertake a part in the NPC carcinogenesis. Normal healthy people have a memory B cell pool where the EBV persists, and any disturbance of this connection leads to virus-associated B cell malignancies. Less is known about the relationship between EBV and epithelial cell tumors, especially the EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (EBVaNPC) and EBV-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC). Currently, it is believed that premalignant genetic changes in epithelial cells contribute to the aberrant establishment of viral latency in these tumors. The early and late phases of NPC patients' survival rates vary significantly. The presence of EBV in all tumor cells presents prospects for the development of innovative therapeutic and diagnostic techniques, despite the fact that the virus's exact involvement in the carcinogenic process is presently not very well known. EBV research continues to shed light on the carcinogenic process, which is important for a more comprehensive knowledge of tumor etiology and the development of targeted cancer therapeutics. In order to screen for NPC, EBV-related biomarkers have been widely used in a few high-incidence locations because of their close associations with the risks of NPC. The current review highlights the scientific importance of EBV and its possible association with NPC.

Keywords: Epstein–Barr virus; carcinoma; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; oncogenic viruses; virus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Strategy for EBV targeted gene therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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