Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T23:32:58.836Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The detection of clinically occult nasopharyngeal carcinoma in patients following radiotherapy – an analysis of 69 patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

John M. Nicholls ,
Daniel Chua ,
Pui Man Chiu  and
Dora L. W. Kwong
John M. Nicholls*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
Daniel Chua
Affiliation:
Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
Pui Man Chiu
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
Dora L. W. Kwong
Affiliation:
Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
*
Address for correspondence: Dr J. Nicholls, Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Fax: (852) 28725197
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A prospective analysis of 69 patients who had been treated for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) by external radiotherapy was carried out. Biopsies from the posterior nasopharynx were performed and analyzed by in situ hybridization using an antisense Epstein-Barr Early RNA (EBER) radio-labelled riboprobe. None of the patients had evidence of disease in the nasopharynx. One patient was found to have nasopharyngeal carcinoma detected only by in situ hybridization. In the subsequent 18-month follow-up of these clinically- and biopsynegative patients, only one patient developed relapse in the nasopharynx. In situ hybridization is a valuable tool for the detection of NPC and should be routinely available in histopathology laboratories where NPC is regularly diagnosed.

Keywords

Nasopharyngeal neoplasmsCarcinomaRadiotherapy
Type
Pathology in Focus
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 110 , Issue 5 , May 1996 , pp. 496 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brousset, P., Butet, V., Chittal, S., Selves, J., Delsol, G. (1992) Comparison of in situ hybridization using different nonisotopic probes for detection of Epstein-Barr virus in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and immunohistochemical correlation with anti-latent membrane protein antibody. Laboratory Investigation 67: 457–464.Google Scholar
Nicholls, J. M., Sham, J. S. T., Ng, M. H. (1993) In situ carcinoma adjacent to recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Evidence of a new growth? Pathology, Research and Practice 189: 1067–1070.Google Scholar
Sam, C. K., Brooks, L. A., Niedobitek, G., Young, L. S., Prasad, U., Rickinson, A. B. (1993) Analysis of Epstein-Barr virus infection in nasopharyngeal biopsies from a group at high risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. International Journal of Cancer 53: 957–962.Google Scholar
Tao, Q., Srivastava, G., Chan, A. C. L., Chung, L. P., Loke, S. L., Ho, F. C. S. (1995) Evidence for lytic infection by Epstein-Barr virus in mucosal lymphocytes instead of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells in normal individuals. Journal of Medical Virology 45: 71–77.Google Scholar
Yuen, S. T., Chung, L. P., Leung, S. Y., Luk, I. S. C., Chan, S. Y., Ho, J. (1994) In situ detection of Epstein-Barr virus in gastric and colorectal adenocarcinomas. American Journal of Surgical Pathology 18: 1158–1163.Google Scholar