Scientists at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) developed a novel anti-Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) drug that can shrink tumors caused by the EBV virus. It is the first known agent to successfully target the virus and disturb its latency in tumor cells in this way.
EBV infection spreads through close to close person contact and has infected more than 90% of the human population worldwide.
Learn more about the EBV virus and cancer:
Now, findings published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that potently reactivating the EBV from latency can be a form of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) therapeutic. The drug works by binding and disrupting the vital EBV protein.
"This discovery lays a good foundation for the development of therapeutics for the treatment of EBV-associated diseases such as NPC," said Professor Gary Wong Ka-Leung.
Source: Science Daily
