Specific combinations of human and viral genetic variants explain a cancer predisposition in southern China

The revolution of genome-wide scans has led to the discovery of numerous robust associations between human genetic variants and disease outcomes, susceptibility and resistance. Many of these associations map to a region of the genome containing HLA genes, which encode a system of proteins that are essential for mounting adaptive immune responses. There is a long-recognized association between HLA genes and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a head and neck cancer that is most prevalent in southern China. Writing in Nature, Chen et al.1 go some way to delineating the basis for this association, representing a valuable step towards revealing the specific mechanisms that underpin how NPC arises.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01047-0

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Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests.

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