Nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A comparative study.

A comparative study of Ghanaian and Saudi hospital cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) shows a higher occurrence among younger subjects in the Ghanaian group, with the peak age incidence in the Saudi group being similar to those reported from other parts of the world. In view of the known high prevalence of Burkitt's lymphoma among Ghanaian children, it is suggested that the much higher proportion of younger Ghanaian subjects with NPC may be related to early exposure to the Epstein-Barr virus which is known to be associated with both malignancies.