Epstein‐Barr‐virus‐associated gastric cancer in Russia

The present investigation was carried out to estimate the prevalence of EBV‐associated cases among gastric carcinoma (GC) patients of Russia and the Republics of the former Soviet Union (FSU). With this aim, formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded blocks from 206 gastric carcinomas obtained from patients of the Cancer Research Center, Moscow, were investigated by EBV‐encoded RNA‐1 (EBER‐1) in situ hybridization applied to paraffin sections. As a result, 18 GC cases (8.7%) revealed uniform EBER‐1 expression restricted to the carcinoma cells. Hybridized signals not detected in non‐neoplastic gastric epithelium. EBV involvement was significantly more frequent among males, especially in tumors of less differentiated types (moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinomas and poorly differentiated solid adenocarcinomas) and located in the upper stomach (cardia and middle). Most EBV‐positive GCs were characterized by strong lymphoid‐compartment involvement. Our findings concerning the distribution of EBV‐positive GCs by sex, site and hystological type are similar to those in Japan, however, EBV‐positive rate of GC cases in Russia is higher than in Japan and lower than in USA. Int. J. Cancer 73:786–789, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.