The level of Epstein-Barr virus antibodies in pathients with bladder cancer

Fifty-four patients (44 men and 10 women) were examined and treated with the mean age of 64.6±9.93 years (range 38-90), which were referred to the emergency urological departments due to the macrohematuria. All patients were investigated according to standards with additional detection (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) of the IgG and IgM to the type 1 and 2 herpes viruses (HSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), with PCR of the urine and tumor tissue using the assay to these viruses, urethral swab for the human papilloma viruses (HPV) of the high oncogene risk. Pathological stage was T1NxM0 in 63% of patients (n=34), T2N0M0 - in 12 patients (22.2%) and locally advanced disease was detected in 8 cases. Multiple tumors were present in 28 patients. From the pathological point of view, 68.5% had an urothelial cancer with high malignancy potential, 12 patients - with low malignancy potential. The tumors were recurrent in 15 patients. In patients with recurrent tumors, high malignancy potential of the tumor and locally advanced tumors anti-EBV Ig-EBNA (level of the antigens to nuclear antigen of EBV) was higher than that in the patients with non-invasive tumors and low malignancy potential. The patients with low-grade tumors and initially detected locally-advanced tumors had an prominently increased level of the antibodies to the capsid protein (anti-EBV IgG-VCA). The patients with tumors of high malignancy potential, advanced local disease and high rate of disease relapse the level of the antibodies to the early phase proteins was higher (anti-EBV Eg-EA). The higher antigen titer correlated with increased level of the antibodies of other investigated viruses, presence of EBV and other viruses in tumor, and with the disease stage.