OBJECTIVETo investigate the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) BamH I "f" variant in primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its metastases in lymph nodes (LN).

METHODSIn situ hybridization was used to detect EBV-encoded small RNA (EBER) expression in 21 paired paraffin-embedded tissue from primary NPC and their lymph node metastases and 22 primary NPC without lymph node metastasis. PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay were used to detect EBV BamH I "f" variant in all cases of NPCs, lymph node metastases and 50 cases of chronic inflammation of nasopharynx from Canton.

RESULTSAll cases of NPCs and their lymph node metastases showed EBER expression, indicating a high EBV-positive rate in Cantonese NPC patients. EBV BamH I "f" variant was found in 11 cases (52.4%, 11/21) of primary NPCs with LN metastasis, 12 cases (57.1%, 12/21) of the LN metastases, and 18 cases (81.8%, 18/22) of primary NPCs without LN metastasis. However, of the 50 cases of chronic inflammation of nasopharynx, only one case (2.1%, 1/47) demonstrated BamH I "f" variant. The frequency of BamH I "f" variant in NPC was therefore dramatically higher than that in chronic inflammation of nasopharynx. It is of note that atypical hyperplasia was observed in a few epithelial cells from the case of chronic inflammation of nasopharynx expressing BamH I "f" variant.

CONCLUSIONSThe frequency of EBV BamH I "f" variant in NPC is significantly higher than that in chronic inflammation of nasopharynx. It is the first demonstration that the BamH I "f" variant is also present in the LN metastases of NPC. The frequency of BamH I "f" variant in metastatic NPC of the lymph node is almost equal to that of primary NPCs.