TY - JOUR
T1 - Genotypic characterization of epstein barr virus in blood of patients with suspected nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Ghana
AU - Ayee, Richmond
AU - Ofori, Maame Ekua Oforiwaa
AU - Tagoe, Emmanuel Ayitey
AU - Languon, Sylvester
AU - Searyoh, Kafui
AU - Armooh, Louis
AU - Bilson-Amoah, Estella
AU - Baidoo, Kenneth
AU - Kitcher, Emmanuel
AU - Wright, Edward
AU - Quaye, Osbourne
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is associated with Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infection. However different viral strains have been implicated in NPC worldwide. This study aimed to detect and characterize EBV in patients diagnosed with NPC in Ghana. A total of 55 patients diagnosed with NPC by CT scan and endoscopy were age-matched with 53 controls without a known oncological disease. Venous blood was collected from the study participants and DNA extracted from the blood samples. Detection of EBV and genotyping were done by amplifying Epstein Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) and Epstein Barr nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA-2), respectively, using specific primers. Viral load in patients and controls was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. EBV positivity in controls (92%) was significantly greater than that of NPC patients (67%) (χ2 = 19.17, p < 0.0001), and viral infection was independent of gender (χ2 = 1.770, p = 0.1834). The predominant EBV genotypes in patients and controls were genotype 2 (52%) and genotype 1 (62%), respectively. Median EBV load was significantly higher in NPC patients than the control group (p < 0.01). In summary, prevalence of EBV genotype 2 infection was higher in NPC patients than the control group. Assessment of EBV load may be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of NPC.
AB - Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is associated with Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infection. However different viral strains have been implicated in NPC worldwide. This study aimed to detect and characterize EBV in patients diagnosed with NPC in Ghana. A total of 55 patients diagnosed with NPC by CT scan and endoscopy were age-matched with 53 controls without a known oncological disease. Venous blood was collected from the study participants and DNA extracted from the blood samples. Detection of EBV and genotyping were done by amplifying Epstein Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) and Epstein Barr nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA-2), respectively, using specific primers. Viral load in patients and controls was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. EBV positivity in controls (92%) was significantly greater than that of NPC patients (67%) (χ2 = 19.17, p < 0.0001), and viral infection was independent of gender (χ2 = 1.770, p = 0.1834). The predominant EBV genotypes in patients and controls were genotype 2 (52%) and genotype 1 (62%), respectively. Median EBV load was significantly higher in NPC patients than the control group (p < 0.01). In summary, prevalence of EBV genotype 2 infection was higher in NPC patients than the control group. Assessment of EBV load may be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of NPC.
KW - Epstein Barr virus
KW - Genotypes
KW - Ghana
KW - Nasopharyngeal cancer
KW - Viral load
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088677303&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/v12070766
DO - 10.3390/v12070766
M3 - Article
C2 - 32708700
AN - SCOPUS:85088677303
SN - 1999-4915
VL - 12
JO - Viruses
JF - Viruses
IS - 7
M1 - 766
ER -
