SEROEPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA BY FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TECHNIQUES WITH CULTURED BURKITT LYMPHOMA CELL

Methods for detection of anti-EB virus antibody by fluorescent antibody techniques were standardized. The anti-EB virus antibody titers of normal subjects in Taiwan are significantly higher than that of the normal subjects in Japan. By ridit analysis, sera from infectious mononucleosis patients exhibit higher titer than those of leukemia, other cancers, and normal subjects. However, they were lower than those of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Burkitt lymphoma. Anti-EB virus titer higher than 1:640 was found in the sera of 85.7% of Burkitt lymphoma patients (7 cases), 77.1% of Chinese nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients (48 cases) in Taiwan, and 63.6% of Japanese nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients (11 cases), as compared with around 15% in other malignancies and 5-15% in normal subjects. This result indicates the presence of similar antibody, which possesses identical or at least similar reactivity against the EB-virus, in the sera of both nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Burkitt lymphoma patients.