摘要
To the Editor：Nasopharyngeal carcinoma （NPC） is a type of cancer that is rare in western countries,but common in the Middle East,Southeast Asia,and Africa.Epstein-Barr virus （EBV） infection of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells,including interactions involving its putative cofactors,is commonly considered critical in NPC development.[1,2] We propose that if this hypothesis is true,either the geographic distribution of EBV infections,or the associated cofactors,should mirror that of NPC.That is,for at least one of these factors,their prevalence should be significantly higher in the Middle East,Southeast Asia,and Africa than in western countries.However,this is not the case.Rather,EBV is a ubiquitous human herpes virus;more than 90% of adults,worldwide,have evidence of infection.Furthermore,EBV＇s cofactors have not been shown to parallel the geographic distribution of NPC.
To the Editor：Nasopharyngeal carcinoma （NPC） is a type of cancer that is rare in western countries,but common in the Middle East,Southeast Asia,and Africa.Epstein-Barr virus （EBV） infection of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells,including interactions involving its putative cofactors,is commonly considered critical in NPC development.[1,2] We propose that if this hypothesis is true,either the geographic distribution of EBV infections,or the associated cofactors,should mirror that of NPC.That is,for at least one of these factors,their prevalence should be significantly higher in the Middle East,Southeast Asia,and Africa than in western countries.However,this is not the case.Rather,EBV is a ubiquitous human herpes virus;more than 90% of adults,worldwide,have evidence of infection.Furthermore,EBV＇s cofactors have not been shown to parallel the geographic distribution of NPC.
基金
This study was supported by the grant from the National Science Foundation of China （No. 81170743）.
