Biopsy specimens from Alaskan Native patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and from other patients seen on the otolaryngology service were tested for Epstein-Barr virus-specific DNA and nuclear antigen (EBNA). Serum samples from both groups were tested for various EBV-related antibodies. EBV DNA and EBNA results were in agreement in 29 of 31 tissue specimens tested by the two methods. Ten of 11 biopsies containing NPC cells were positive for EBV DNA. Two NPC patients had biopsies that showed only atypical epithelium but were also positive for EBV DNA or EBNA. The other tissue specimens were negative except for biopsies from two patients: one with a parotid gland lymphoepithelial lesion; another with undifferentiated carcinoma of salivary gland origin.
The records of 20 Alaskan Native patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) diagnosed in the 11-year period 1969-1979 were reviewed. The annual incidence of PHC was found to be high among Alaskan Native males and especially high among Alaskan Eskimo males (7.6 and 11.2 per 100,000 respectively) in comparison to Greenland and Canadian Eskimos and US white males. Familial and geographic clustering of PHC patients was noted in areas known to be hyperendemic for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. A bimodal age distribution among PHC patients occurred with peaks at 15-25 years and 40-65 years. A high prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum of patients in the younger age group suggests that HBV infection might be a factor associated with the development of PHC in young Eskimos. PHC in Alaskan Natives is apparently not closely associated with alcoholic cirrhosis.
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