Expression Level of Latent Membrane Protein 1 Epstein-Barr Virus in Tissue Biopsy Among Different Clinical Stages of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Abstract Background Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a prevalent malignancy in the head and neck area, particularly affecting males. NPC is consistently linked to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, environmental and genetic factors. EBV is an oncogenic herpes virus that harbours the latent membrane protein (LMP1). This study aimed to analyze the association between the expression level of LMP1 and clinical stages of NPC. Methods A retrospective study of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues of NPC was examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Additionally, semi-quantitative scoring was performed to determine the degree of LMP1 expression. The difference between LMP1 expression and the clinical stage was analyzed through Kruskal-Wallis statistics. Results Our study revealed that the prevalence of EBV-LMP1 in NPC was 98% (78/79). The expression of LMP1 was the most detected in 93.7% of non-keratinizing undifferentiated and 6.3% of non-keratinizing carcinoma. The prevalence of LMP1-positive patients distributed in clinical stages II, III, and IV was 8.8%, 6.5%, and 74.7%, respectively. The percentage of LMP1 +++ expression for clinical stages II, III, and IV are 14.29%, 23.08%, and 50.85%, respectively. No significant difference was observed in the expression of LMP1 across different clinical stages. Conclusions The prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus infection is relatively high in nasopharyngeal cancer, namely in the non-keratinizing undifferentiated type. There is an elevated expression of LMP1 in higher clinical stages of NPC; however, it may not correlate. Therefore, further study in a larger population is worth conducting.