Quantitative and temporal correlation between circulating cell-free Epstein-Barr virus DNA and tumor recurrence in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Vol. 59; no. 21; pp. 5452 - 5455
• Main Authors: LO, Y. M. D, CHAN, L. Y. S, CHAN, A. T. C, LEUNG, S.-F, LO, K.-W, ZHANG, J, LEE, J. C. K, HJELM, N. M, JOHNSON, P. J, HUANG, D. P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA American Association for Cancer Research 01.11.1999
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Bone Neoplasms - secondary; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - diagnosis; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - radiotherapy; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - virology; Case-Control Studies; Disease-Free Survival; DNA, Viral - blood; Epstein-Barr virus; Follow-Up Studies; Herpesvirus 4, Human - genetics; Humans; Liver Neoplasms - secondary; Lung Neoplasms - secondary; Medical sciences; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - diagnosis; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - virology; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - genetics; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - virology; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Prognosis; Time Factors; Tumors; Upper respiratory tract, upper alimentary tract, paranasal sinuses, salivary glands: diseases, semeiology; Gammaherpesvirinae; Human; Recurrence; Carcinoma; Herpesviridae; Tumoral marker; Nasopharynx; Epstein Barr virus; Malignant tumor; Blood; Blood plasma; Virus; DNA; Cross sectional study; ENT disease; Remission; Serum; Pharynx disease; Predictive factor; Monitoring
• ISSN: 0008-5472; 1538-7445

Recently, cell-free EBV DNA has been detected in the plasma and serum of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We studied the relationship between plasma/serum EBV DNA and tumor recurrence. Using real-time quantitative PCR, the median plasma EBV DNA concentration in 10 patients with tumor recurrence was determined to be 32,350 copies/ml, whereas that in 15 patients in continuous remission for a mean period of 2 years was 0 copy/ml. Longitudinal follow-up of 17 NPC patients revealed 6 individuals with tumor recurrence and 11 patients who remained in remission. Significant elevations in serum EBV DNA, sometimes up to 6 months before detectable clinical deterioration, were observed in the patients who subsequently developed tumor recurrence. Continuously low or undetectable levels of serum EBV DNA were observed in the patients who remained in remission. These results suggest that plasma/serum cell-free EBV DNA may be a valuable tool for the monitoring of NPC patients for the early detection of tumor recurrence.