Sex-dependent different clinicopathological characterization of Epstein–Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma: a large-scale study

Background Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) has been reported to account for approximately 5–16% of all GCs with good prognosis compared to EBV-negative GC. We evaluated the clinicopathological characteristics of EBVaGC including survival rate in South Korea. Methods A total of 4,587 patients with GC who underwent EBV in situ hybridization (EBV–ISH) were prospectively enrolled at the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital from 2003 to 2021. Age, sex, smoking status, cancer type and stage, tumor size and location, histological type, molecular features and survival information were analyzed. Results A total of 456 patients with GC (9.9%) were positive for EBV. The EBVaGC group displayed a higher proportion of males ( P