Virus as the Cause of Rhinopharyngeal Carcinoma

Tissue cultures from the primary growths of 10 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients failed to grow. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients in Chinese yielded more evidence of infection in adenovirus types 7 and 12 than the normal Chinese population. Sera from 27 Chinese nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients were tested for precipitating antibody to antigen prepared from Burkitt's lymphoma cells. There was a high incidence, 85%, of positive reactions in these patients. The possibility that nasopharyngeal carcinoma has a viral cause or relationship with Burkitt's lymphoma is discussed. While there is no evidence to support this contention, the possibility can not be excluded of a predisposing virus infection as the initiator of a malignant process or transformation.