Tóm tắt

Objectives: To study fluctuation of plasma cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA at pre-, mid- and post-radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. Methods: 21 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients of stages I - IVB were followed up and the sensitive realtime PCR assay with detection limit of 25 copies/mL was performed for quantification of plasma cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA. Results: Before radiotherapy, there were 71.43% of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA ≥ 300 copies/mL and 23.81% of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with detectable cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA of less than 300 copies/ml. After radiotherapy, these numbers were 0% and 23.81%. Patients with undetectable cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA after radiotherapy accounted for 76.19%, which was statistically different from before radiotherapy. Data of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients from the middle of therapy was collected after 15 - 20 fractions. Conclusion: Changes of plasma cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA, detected by our sensitive realtime PCR assay, represent a valuable biomarker for monitoring the response of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients to radiotherapy. * Keywords: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Cell-free Epstein Barr virus; DNA; Chemoradiotherapy.

Abstract

Objectives: To study fluctuation of plasma cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA at pre-, mid- and post-radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. Methods: 21 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients of stages I - IVB were followed up and the sensitive realtime PCR assay with detection limit of 25 copies/mL was performed for quantification of plasma cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA. Results: Before radiotherapy, there were 71.43% of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA ≥ 300 copies/mL and 23.81% of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with detectable cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA of less than 300 copies/ml. After radiotherapy, these numbers were 0% and 23.81%. Patients with undetectable cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA after radiotherapy accounted for 76.19%, which was statistically different from before radiotherapy. Data of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients from the middle of therapy was collected after 15 - 20 fractions. Conclusion: Changes of plasma cell-free Epstein Barr virus DNA, detected by our sensitive realtime PCR assay, represent a valuable biomarker for monitoring the response of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients to radiotherapy. * Keywords: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Cell-free Epstein Barr virus; DNA; Chemoradiotherapy.