Oncogenic viruses may have a significant impact on the therapeutic management of several
malignancies besides their well-known role in
tumor pathogenesis. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) induces neoplastic transformation of epithelial cells of the nasopharynx by various molecular mechanisms mostly involving activation of oncogenes and inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes.
EBV infection can also induce the expression of several immunogenic
peptides on the plasma membrane of the infected cells. Importantly, these virus-related
antigens may be used as targets for antitumor
immunotherapy-based treatment strategies. Two different
immunotherapy strategies, namely adoptive and active immunotherapy, have been developed and strongly improved in the recent years. Furthermore,
EBV infection may influence the use of targeted
therapies for
nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) considering that the presence of EBV can induce important modifications in cell signaling. As an example, latent
membrane protein type 1 is a viral transmembrane
protein mainly involved in the cancerogenesis process, which can also mediate overexpression of the
epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in NPC cells, rendering them more sensitive to anti-EGFR
therapy. Finally, EBV may induce epigenetic changes in the infected cells, such as
DNA hypermethylation and
histone deacetylation, that can sustain
tumor growth and can thus be considered potential targets for novel
therapies. In conclusion,
EBV infection can modify important
biological features of NPC cells, rendering them more vulnerable to both
immunotherapy and targeted
therapy.