Epstein-Barr virus antibodies in patients with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a member of the herpesvirus family. The EBV genome consists of a linear DNA molecular that encoded nearly 100 viral proteins. EBV is one of the most successful viruses, infecting over 95 percent of the adult population of the world. Sera were collected from 61 patients (21 healthy patients without neoplasms, 30 cases with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and 10 patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma). The sera were titrated for EBV IgM/VCA, IgG/VCA, IgG/EBNA, IgA/VCA, IgA/EBNA and IgA/EA antibodies by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Only 5 (12.8%) of 39 patients with cancer were positive for anti IgM/VCA and all the controls showed negative results. 36 (92.3%) of 39 patients with cancer and 17 (94.4%) of 18 of the control group were positive for anti IgG/VCA. Seropositive anti IgG/EBNA were detected in 27 (65.8%) of 41 cases of cancer and in 11 (61.1%) of 18 healthy control group. The positive anti IgA Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen was detected in 7 (17.9%) of 39 patients with cancer and all the control group showed negative result. No subject of the control group was positive for anti IgA Epstein-Barr early antigen and only one patient (2.56%) was positive from the group with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer. 3 (7.69%) of 39 patients with cancer and 2 (11.1%) of 18 controls were positive for anti IgA Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen. The differences were not significant.