Zhou T, et al. - Through an epidemiological study among 1,701 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients in South China, the researchers intended to assess the associations between certain lifestyle and dietary factors and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, an early indicator of NPC onset and progression) antibody levels. A significant correlation of consumption of Canton-style herbal tea with elevated serological antibody levels of VCA-IgA and EA-IgA in the weekly intake frequency stratum was observed, however, it was not associated with an anti-enzyme rate (AER) of EBV DNase-specific neutralizing antibody. Smoking was discovered to be an obvious risk factor for higher antibody levels of AER in stage III-IV patients with its close association with the NPC stage at the time of diagnosis, with dose-response effects. Hence, in NPC patients, intake of Canton-style herbal tea and cigarette smoking were in a positive relationship with elevated EBV antibodies, which could be of public health importance for the primary prevention of EBV-associated diseases especially NPC.