The significance of serologic test for EB-virus antibody in occult type nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Since antibody titers against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigens are often elevated in sera of patient with active undifferentiated and nonkeratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma, anti-EBV serologic tests have been applied for diagnosis of metastatic lymphadenopathy in the neck without an obvious source and/or suspicious tumor of the nasopharynx. In this study it is emphasized that the serologic test procedure was helpful in diagnosing a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma that was initially occult but eventually confirmed by biopsy.