Abstract:
This study was carried out in Khartoum State in the period between March and July 2012. The main
objective was to determine the frequency of Epstein-Barr virus in patients with cancer of the stomach.
A total of 150 ascites samples were collected from suspected patients with gastric cancer and then all
samples were tested by using real time polymerize chain reaction (RT-PCR).
The results revealed that the proportion of Epstein-Barr virus in the total sample was 14 (9.3%). The
proportion of people who suffer from cancer of the stomach of the total samples were 32 (21.3%), and
among confirmed patients with gastric cancer rate was 8 (25%), while 6 (5.08%) in the unconfirmed
patients.
Either in terms of the association between age and cancer of the stomach, the results show that the highest
rate was among patients who were aged over 70 years, where the percent was 60 % and women accounted
for 87.5% of the patients suffering from Epstein-Barr virus and cancer of the stomach. Either in terms of the
relationship between age, sex, and cancer of the stomach and infection Epstein-Barr has varied ages among
females between 32 and 78 and found one male was 65 years old, and the viral load ranged between 350 and
3500 among unconfirmed GC patients and ranged between 890 and 3500 among confirmed gastric cancer
patients.
This study concluded that there is a connection between stomach cancer and Epstein-Barr virus. A direct
association in the sense that this virus may be one of the causes of cancer of the stomach. Further studies are
needed to confirm these results.
