Hong Kong team develops test that detects nasopharyngeal cancer with 97% accuracy

A Hong Kong research team has developed a new screening method that detects the DNA of a virus associated with nasopharyngeal cancer in blood, enabling the early identification of high-risk patients with an accuracy of up to 97 per cent.

The team from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) released the results of the study on Thursday, which found that individuals with cancer-associated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA detected in blood had an 87-fold increased risk of developing nasopharyngeal cancer compared with those without it.

The researchers said EBV infection was common, and those without the cancer could also be tested positive for the viral DNA via the conventional method of polymerase chain reaction.

But the new approach used sequencing technology, which successfully differentiated cancer-associated viral DNA and infection-related ones, they said.

“The significance of this research is that we have found we can use sequencing technology to differentiate cancer-associated EBV DNA and infection-related EBV DNA, which improves the accuracy of cancer screening,” said Professor Allen Chan Kwan-chee, chairman of CUHK’s department of chemical pathology.

“This screening method can detect 97 per cent of nasopharyngeal cancer patients. It has high sensitivity and accuracy.”

More than 700 new cases of nasopharyngeal cancer are diagnosed annually in Hong Kong. It is among the top 10 most common cancers in men in the city.

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