Nasopharyngeal carcinoma causes

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Homa Najafi, M.D.[2]Faizan Sheraz, M.D. [3]

Common causes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma include Epstein Barr virus (EBV infection), Human Papillomavirus (HPV infection), and consumption of salted fish as a source of N-nitrosamine.

Common causes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma may include:^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

• EBV infection: Role of EBV infection in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is established. Detection of EBV DNA and EBV gene expression even in the first phases of tumor transformation in all tumor cells confirmed this role.
• HPV infection: HPV infection is associated with the non-endemic form of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The patients with HPV positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma has poor prognosis rather than the EBV positive ones.
• Consumption of salted fish: N-nitrosamine in salted fish acts as a carcinogenic factor on nasopharyngeal cells. Individuals who start consumption of salted fish from their childhood have a greater risk to develop NPC rather than the ones who start in their adulthood.

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