The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a very common virus that most people get in childhood or adolescence. It can cause mono (the “kissing disease”). While most people have few symptoms, and those who do get it recover, the virus is a lifelong infection that usually lies dormant and inactive in the body.
EBV is a cancer biomarker because some gastric cancer patients with the EBV virus form a unique type of tumor, called EBVaGC.
This tumor type has its own set of mutations and genetic changes that are being studied in targeted therapies, and it may also predict better or worse response to immunotherapy. EBV DNA levels can be tracked when it comes to monitoring disease.
Patients with EBVaGC tend to have a better prognosis and lower rates of metastasis in the lymph nodes.
