Study on the application of three EB virus related antibodies in the diagnosis of EB virus associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Objective To investigate the value of combined detection of viral capsid antibody(VCA-IgA), early antigen antibody(EA-IgG), and Rta protein antibody IgG(Rta-IgG) in the diagnosis of EB virus associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC). Methods A total of 47 nasopharynx cancer patients, 45 patients with benign rhinitis and 45 healthy controls were recruited.The serum levels of VCA-IgA, EA-IgA and Rta-IgG were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Specificity and sensitivity of the indicators alone and combined detection were compared using the clinical diagnosis as the gold standard. Results The expression levels of serum VCA-IgA, EA-IgA and Rta-IgG in the rhinitis group were (0.82±0.25), (0.74±0.13), (0.89±0.27), the levels in the NPC group were (2.16±0.39), (1.26±0.24), (3.95±0.76), and the levels in the healthy control group were (0.65±0.14), (0.51±0.11), (0.41±0.16)respectively.The levels of VCA-IgA, EA-IgA and Rta-IgG in the rhinitis group, NPC group and healthy group were significantly different(F=400.065, 232.803, 740.215, P=0.000, 0.000, 0.000). The levels of VCA-IgA, EA-IgA and Rta-IgG in the NPC patients with different TNM stages were significantly different(F=195.679, 30.878, 38.561, P=0.000, 0.000, 0.000), and the trend of each antibody was increased with the severity of the disease.The sensitivity of VCA-IgA was the highest(85.11%), and the specificity of EA-IgA was the highest(95.56%). The sensitivity of the combined assay was 95.74%, which was higher than that of the other three combinations. Conclusion The combination of VCA-IgA, EA-IgA and Rta-IgG can reflect the expression of EBV-associated antigen to a greater extent, and it is superior to single or two combined detection in the diagnosis of EB-associated NPC, with a high clinical value. Key words: Nasopharyngeal neoplasms; Epstein-Barr virus; Antibody; Diagnosis