Epstein –Barr Virus VCA- IgG Antibodies in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma patient and Control group -A laboratory based study.

Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is a member of human herpes virus which is etiologically closely related to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). NPC is generally seen to be associated with elevated levels of antibodies against antigens in the EBV lytic phase. This study was aimed to assess the serum level IgG antibodies against the viral capsid antigen of Epstein Barr virus as well as to compare the levels in Nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients and healthy controls. The study was carried out as a case-control study in a tertiary hospital of a Northeastern state of India. A total of 90 samples (50 nasopharyngeal carcinoma and 40 normal healthy controls) were tested by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay by using EBV-VCA IgG ELISA kit. The male to female ratio is 3:1and majority (64%) NPC cases are from Mongoloid groups of people. All the Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma cases (100%) showed positive IgG antibodies with higher titer but majority of randomly selected healthy control groups shows lower titer against the viral capsid antigen of Epstein Barr virus. Thus, elevated antibody level could serve to predict diagnosis of NPC among patients suspected of having NPC on one hand, and on the other hand, it could serve as a risk marker to predict occult tumour patients among apparently healthy subjects.