Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a major threat to men in Southeast Asia, and it is strongly linked to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. The significant morbidity and mortality rates associated with NPC are mostly the result of late-stage diagnosis. A Hong Kong study used PCR testing to assess EBV viremia in 20,000 men aged 40 to 62. Those who tested positive were then re-screened four weeks later to ensure persistence. Further research, including MRI and endoscopy, revealed 34 cases of NPC.  A three to five-year follow-up screening on the same sample revealed that 423 of the 17,838 men examined were persistently positive for EBV. This second round of screening identified 24 new instances of NPC.

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