| Abstract | Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is one of the most widespread human viruses, infecting over 90% of humans worldwide and persisting for the lifetime of the person. Most people infected with EBV are asymptomatic, but the virus has been associated with many diseases and cancers including infectious mononucleosis, Burkitt's lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). NPC is a cancer of epithelial cells, with the so-called undifferentiated type being strongly associated with EBV. In these cases, EBV genomes are found in almost all tumor cells and, in concert with genetic and environmental factors, play an important role in the development of cancer. In healthy carriers, the persistence of EBV infection at a low level is tightly regulated by the virus and the host immune response. We propose a mathematical model to describe this regulation, and the steps leading to the breakdown of regulation in the development of NPC. |
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