Table 1.

Characteristics and prevalence of EBV-attributable cases of BL, HL, NPC and GC

Malignancy	Comment on age, gender, regional variations	Prevalence of EBV in cases (%)	Cellular origin of malignant cells	Pattern of EBV gene expression in malignant cells	References
BL
Endemic regions (M:F ratio 3:1)	Sub-Saharan Africa have highest risk	95	B cells	Type I latency (EBERs, EBNA1)	19–22 25 26
Intermediate regions (M:F ratio 3:1)	North Africa and Middle East, Latin America, have intermediate risk	50
Non-endemic regions (M:F ratio 3:1)	All other regions have low risk	20
HL
Children <14 years	Age group 0–14 years have highest risk	62	B cells	Type II latency (EBERs, EBNA1, LMP1)	27 31–36
Adults 15–54 years	Age group 15–54 years lowest risk	30
Adults>55 years	Age group 55+ years have medium/high risk	55
NPC
High/intermediate incident regions	East Asia, South Asia, South East Asia, North Africa and Middle East	100	Epithelial cells	Type II latency (EBERs, EBNA1, LMP1)	2 3 23
Low incident regions	All other regions	80
GC
Males	Males have higher risk	11	Epithelial cells	Type II latency (EBERs, EBNA1, LMP1)	37 38
Females	Females have lower risk	6

Based on published studies, we estimated the proportion of BL, HL, NPC and GC that are attributable to EBV, taking into consideration any established variations that have been reported in different age, sex and ethnic groups. The cellular origin of each malignancy and the pattern of EBV gene expression is also indicated.

BL, Burkitt lymphoma; EBERs, Epstein-Barr encoded RNA; EBNA, Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen; EBV, Epstein-Barr virus; GC, gastric carcinoma; HL, Hodgkin lymphoma; LMP, latent membrane protein; NPC, nasopharyngeal carcinoma.