To the Editor.—In my experience of at least 100 consecutive patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, detailed history revealed that none of them suffered from any type of nasal allergy clinically. Is this a coincidence, and can a correlation be established that will apply to this observation?
Nasal allergy, caused by allergens, is mainly an IgE-mediated type I reaction. However, in allergic airway disease, IgG antibody may act as an anaphylactic, a blocking, or a precipitating antibody to cause an immediate reaction, to inhibit an immediate reaction, or to provoke a delayed type III reaction.1 This is a B-cell–mediated immune system, though certain patients with hay fever have been shown to have T lymphocytes.2
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, on the other hand, is associated with the Epstein-Barr virus, which involves the T-cell system. In vitro studies have shown, directly or indirectly, the importance of T cells in the control of Epstein-Barr