A comparative study on EBV genomes detected in tumors, nasopharyngeal swabs, and saliva from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Epstein-Barr virus genetic variations are strongly linked to the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, particularly in high-incidence regions like Southern China. Since saliva is frequently used for EBV genotyping in epidemiological studies due to the shedding of virus, it is important to establish whether the same EBV strains infect different tissues within the same host, to validate the use of saliva as a reliable source for NPC-related research.This study aims to determine whether EBV strains detected in non-invasive samples, such as saliva and nasopharyngeal swabs, accurately reflect the strains present in tumor tissues of NPC patients.