RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This study was aimed to investigate the clinical value of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) Rta/IgG in the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Serum samples derived from 211 untreated patients with NPC, 413 subjects including 203 non-NPC ENT patients and 210 healthy volunteers as control were examined for the presence of antibodies directed against Rta/IgG by using enzyme-linked immnunosorbent assay (ELISA). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to perform methodical evaluation of this tumor marker.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The rA value median of Rta/IgG in NPC group was significantly higher than one in control group (P < 0.001). The area under ROC was 0.933. The sensitivity and specificity of this marker were 90.5% and 90.1%, respectively, when the best cutoff value was defined.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Rta/IgG detected with ELISA method is a new target of EBV, and may be one of important marker for NPC diagnosis.</p>