Cargando…

Analysis of Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) and PD-L1 Expression in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients in a Non-Endemic Region

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection and the expression of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in tumor samples from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: Evaluation of EBV infection was performed through the detec...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Dias, Josiane M., Santana, Iara V. V., da Silva, Vinicius D., Carvalho, André L., Arantes, Lidia M. R. B.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9569432/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36233023
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms231911720
Descripción
Sumario:Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection and the expression of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in tumor samples from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: Evaluation of EBV infection was performed through the detection of EBV-encoded small ribonucleic acids (EBER) by in situ hybridization, and PD-L1 expression was performed through immunohistochemistry. Results: In total, 124 samples were evaluated for EBER and 120 for PD-L1 expression. A total of 86.3% of cases were positive for EBER and 55.8% were positive for PD-L1. There was a correlation between EBER positivity and the presence of undifferentiated carcinoma histology (p = 0.007) as well as the absence of tobacco history (p = 0.019). There was a correlation between PD-L1 expression and EBER positivity (p = 0.004). There was no statistically significant difference between overall survival (OS) and EBER (p = 0.290) or PD-L1 (p = 0.801) expression. Conclusions: This study corresponds to one of the largest cohorts of NPC in a non-endemic region. Phase III studies with checkpoint inhibitors are ongoing and may provide more data about the role of PD-L1 expression in this disease.