Molecular screening for Epstein Barr virus (EBV) among Sudanese patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)

Hussain Gadelkarim Ahmed; Rania Saad Abdul Gader Suliman; Mohammed Siddig Abd El Aziz; Fawaz D Alshammari

doi:10.1186/s13027-015-0002-4

Molecular screening for Epstein Barr virus (EBV) among Sudanese patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)

Infect Agent Cancer. 2015 Feb 17:10:6. doi: 10.1186/s13027-015-0002-4. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Hussain Gadelkarim Ahmed¹, Rania Saad Abdul Gader Suliman², Mohammed Siddig Abd El Aziz², Fawaz D Alshammari³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Molecular Diagnostics and Personalized Therapeutics Unit, University of Hail, Hail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ; Department of Histopathology and Cytology, FMLS, University of Khartoum, Hail, Sudan.
² Department of Histopathology and Cytology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Sudan University for Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
³ Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Science, University of Hail, Hail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to screen for the presence of Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) among Sudanese patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: In this study, 150 tissue samples that were previously diagnosed as having NPC were screened for the presence of EBV using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). PCR was performed to amplify two viral genes; EBV nuclear antigen-4 (EBNA-4) and latent membrane protein-1 (LMP1).

Results: EBV genes were detected in 92/150 (61.3%) tissue samples. Of the 92 infected samples, 58/92 (63%) were found among males and 34/92 (37%) were among females.

Conclusion: EBV is prevalent in the Sudan and responsible of the vast majority of cases of NPC.

Keywords: Epstein barr virus; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Sudan.