Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a squamous-cell carcinoma that arises in the epithelial lining of the nasopharynx [1]. This neoplasm has a notable ethnic and geographic distribution, being of high prevalence in southern China but rare in other parts of the world [2]. Familial clustering of NPC has been observed in diverse populations [3]. Elevated levels of circulating free Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA and EBV-related antibodies in sera, as well as EBV DNA in tumor cells, have been consistently detected in individuals with NPC [4,5]. These studies have revealed that the risk factors of NPC are both environmental and genetic. How the risk factors interact, and the genes that are involved in the development of NPC, are not well understood [6].
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