EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS IN GASTRIC-CARCINOMA IN SUZHOU, CHINA AND OSAKA, JAPAN - ASSOCIATION WITH CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL FACTORS AND HLA-SUBTYPE

Information on geographic differences of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) posi tivity and association with HLA in gastric carcinoma are limited. Ther efore, the association of gastric carcinoma with EBV was examined in 1 18 patients from Suzhou, China, where the incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is high, and in 216 patients from Osaka, Japan, where the incidence of NPC is low, NPC being one elf the EBV-associated carc inomas. Expression of HLA-A2 was also examined in some of these cases. The EBV genome was evidenced by PCR and in the tumor cells by in situ hybridization in 7/90 and 9/151 of cases from Suzhou and Osaka, respe ctively. Immunohistochemistry revealed that cancer cells in all cases with EBV did not express latent membrane protein-1. Type A was found i n all cases positive for EBV. Among several histologic and clinical fa ctors, only age of patients showed a correlation with EBV positivity: patients over 60 showed a higher frequency than patients below 60 year s of age (p < 0.05). Typing of the HLA-A locus was possible in 16 case s positive for the EBV genome: 3 of 4 cases from Suzhou and 4 of 7 fro m Osaka were positive for HLA-A2 products. Severe lymphoid cell infilt ration was found in 2 of 7 cases and 1 of 4 cases with and without the HLA-A2 type, respectively. The reported frequency of EBV positivity i n Chinese living in Taiwan and in Japanese living in Hawaii is higher than in Suzhou, China, and Osaka, Japan, respectively. Our findings su ggest that EBV association with gastric carcinoma is influenced by env ironmental and cultural factors. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.