Diagnostic Performance of Anti–Epstein-Barr Virus BNLF2b in Suspected Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Which Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)–related biomarkers provide the most reliable diagnostic performance for suspected nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in outpatient settings?In this prospective cohort study including 3777 evaluated participants, anti-EBV BNLF2b total antibody (P85-Ab) showed superior diagnostic performance compared with EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA)-immunoglobulin A (IgA), EBV early antigen-IgA, and EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1)-IgA. P85-Ab alone showed the best sensitivity among populations with asymptomatic or NPC-nonspecific symptoms. However, the triplet-antibody strategy, combining P85-Ab with VCA-IgA and EBNA1-IgA, improved sensitivity for populations with NPC-specific symptoms.P85-Ab alone may be suggested for asymptomatic patients or those with NPC-nonspecific symptoms, whereas a triplet-antibody strategy is suggested for patients with NPC-specific symptoms.

Corresponding Authors: Lin-Quan Tang, MD, Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, 651 Dongfeng East Road, Guangzhou, China (tanglq@sysucc.org.cn); Ming-Fang Ji, MM, The Cancer Research Institute of Zhongshan City, Zhongshan City People's Hospital, 2 Sunwen East Road, Zhongshan, China (jmftbh@sina.com).

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