TY - JOUR
T1 - Homology of Epstein Barr virus DNA in nasopharyngeal carcinomas from Kenya, Taiwan, Singapore and Tunisia
AU - Pagano, J. S.
AU - Huang, C. H.
AU - Klein, G.
AU - de-Thé, G.
AU - Shanmugaratnam, K.
AU - Yang, C. S.
PY - 1975
Y1 - 1975
N2 - The association of the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and anaplastic carcinoma of the nasopharynx has added another dimension to our view of the biology of this virus. This is a consequence of the demonstration that the EBV genome is harbored in the carcinomatous, i.e., the epithelial, cells of the tumor rather than in the infiltrating lymphocytes. Another aspect of our understanding of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), potentially even more significant, is the epidemiology of this tumor; unlike Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), it is globally distributed although there are remarkable geographic variations. It has been shown that the EBV genome is found in NPC from Kenya. In this publication it is shown that the viral genome can be detected in malignant tissues from patients with NPC in other parts of the world outside Kenya. This is important because it confirms that the association of EBV and a human malignancy is not confined to a limited geographical area where a local etiological cofactor might be operative, as is perhaps the case with BL. In addition, evidence is presented of variations in the viral genome found in tumor tissue taken from NPC. The data may be interpreted as indicating the existence of different strains of the Epstein Barr virus in nature, a phenomenon long suspected but for which previously there was no substantial evidence, or the retention of defective EBV genome in tumor tissue.
AB - The association of the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and anaplastic carcinoma of the nasopharynx has added another dimension to our view of the biology of this virus. This is a consequence of the demonstration that the EBV genome is harbored in the carcinomatous, i.e., the epithelial, cells of the tumor rather than in the infiltrating lymphocytes. Another aspect of our understanding of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), potentially even more significant, is the epidemiology of this tumor; unlike Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), it is globally distributed although there are remarkable geographic variations. It has been shown that the EBV genome is found in NPC from Kenya. In this publication it is shown that the viral genome can be detected in malignant tissues from patients with NPC in other parts of the world outside Kenya. This is important because it confirms that the association of EBV and a human malignancy is not confined to a limited geographical area where a local etiological cofactor might be operative, as is perhaps the case with BL. In addition, evidence is presented of variations in the viral genome found in tumor tissue taken from NPC. The data may be interpreted as indicating the existence of different strains of the Epstein Barr virus in nature, a phenomenon long suspected but for which previously there was no substantial evidence, or the retention of defective EBV genome in tumor tissue.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0016679349&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 191360
AN - SCOPUS:0016679349
SN - 0300-5038
VL - No.11 II
SP - 179
EP - 190
JO - IARC scientific publications
JF - IARC scientific publications
ER -