Association of Epstein Barr virus A73 gene polymorphism with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between Epstein Barr (EB) virus A73 gene polymorphism and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in a Chinese Han population. METHODS: A case-control study was designed, including 510 nasopharyngeal cancer patients and 520 healthy controls, A157154C genotypes of the A73 gene in EB virus were detected, genotype and allele frequency distribution between the two groups were compared. RESULTS: The C allele frequency in the NPC group was significantly higher than that in the control group (68.4% vs. 61.2%; p<0.001). The CC genotype frequency in the NPC group was significantly higher than that in the control group, the difference was significant (47.4% vs. 41.2%; p<0.001). The CC genotype frequency in male patients was significantly higher than that in female patients in the NPC group, the difference was significant (50.3% vs. 34.7%; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: A157154C polymorphism of the A73 gene in EB virus was associated with NPC susceptibility.