biostudies-literatureHe QNatural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province of China9186https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11914554biostudies-literatureUnknown15(1)To compare the performance of magnetic bead (MB) and the concentrated precipitation (CP) based RT-qPCR to qualify cell free EBV DNA (cfEBV DNA) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in non-endemic area of China. From January 2014 to June 2024, a retrospective analysis of 2 cohort studies on cfEBV DNA in NPC patients was conducted to assess the diagnostic value, positive detection rate and clinical application. cfEBV DNA detection with CP based RT-qPCR in cohort 1 and MB based RT-qPCR method in cohort 2. The MB based RT-qPCR for the quantitative measurement of cfEBV DNA load was higher than the CP based RT-qPCR in the same plasma samples from NPC patients (P < 0.001). CP based RT-qPCR measured cfEBV DNA in 1405 NPC and 244 healthy controls in cohort 1 with 40.8% sensitivity (AUC = 0.704, 95% CScientific reportsMB based RT-qPCR increase the clinical application of cfEBV DNA for NPC in non-endemic area of China.PMC1191455423NSFSC1446Wang DYang MLuo HHe QZhou YYan YLiu XMeng FTuo YYing BWang QHuang YZhang ZZhao DfalseMB based RT-qPCR increase the clinical application of cfEBV DNA for NPC in non-endemic area of China.To compare the performance of magnetic bead (MB) and the concentrated precipitation (CP) based RT-qPCR to qualify cell free EBV DNA (cfEBV DNA) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in non-endemic area of China. From January 2014 to June 2024, a retrospective analysis of 2 cohort studies on cfEBV DNA in NPC patients was conducted to assess the diagnostic value, positive detection rate and clinical application. cfEBV DNA detection with CP based RT-qPCR in cohort 1 and MB based RT-qPCR method in cohort 2. The MB based RT-qPCR for the quantitative measurement of cfEBV DNA load was higher than the CP based RT-qPCR in the same plasma samples from NPC patients (P < 0.001). CP based RT-qPCR measured cfEBV DNA in 1405 NPC and 244 healthy controls in cohort 1 with 40.8% sensitivity (AUC = 0.704, 95% C2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Mar2025-04-21T16:53:37.681Z2025-04-21T16:53:37.681ZS-EPMC119145544009759310.1038/s41598-025-93406-6