Dissertation 31 Aug, 2016: Zhiwei Liu

On Aug 31, Zhiwei Liu will defend his thesis "Etiology and early detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: an epidemiological approach". His opponent is Professor Tai-hing Lam from the Division of Community Medicine and Public Health Pratice, University of Hongkong. Supervisors are Professors Weimin Ye, Hans-Olov Adami, Ingemar Ernberg and Su-Mei Cao.

Zhiwei has studied nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), which is a rare malignancy worldwide, but it is endemic in a few areas including southern China, Southeast Asia, North Africa, and the Arctic. The underlying mechanisms behind this remarkable geographic distribution remain unclear. Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has been suggested as a necessary cause of undifferentiated NPC, EBV itself is not sufficient to cause this malignancy. Other co-factors, such as environmental risk factors, and/or genetic susceptibility, may interact with EBV to play a role in the carcinogenesis of NPC. The aim of this thesis was to study the association of early-life social environment, oral hygiene, and family history with the risk of NPC, and to utilize an affinity proteomic approach to identify biomarkers that can potentially facilitate the early detection.

Time and location: 09:00, Aug 31 2016 in the lecture hall Atrium, Nobels väg 12B, Campus Solna