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Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is linked to multiple cancers, including classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL).

Methods: Anti-EBV IgG and IgA antibody responses target-ing 202 sequences from 86 EBV proteins were measured using the same EBV whole proteome array across four case-control studies investigating EBV-positive cHL, eBL, NPC, and NKTCL (407 cases/620 controls). We grouped EBV-targeted antibodies into pathways by immunoglobulin type (IgA and IgG) and life-cycle stage (latent, immediate early lytic, early lytic, late lytic, and glycoprotein) and evaluated their associ-ation with each cancer type. In an additional analysis, we focused on the subset of 46 individual antibodies repre-senting the top candidates for each cancer and compared their associations across the four cancer types using multivariable linear regression models.

Results: IgA antibody responses targeting all EBV life-cycle stages were associated with NPC but limited to anti-early lytic stage for cHL. NPC and eBL were associated with IgG antibodies across the viral life cycle; cHL with antibodies in the early lytic, late lytic and glyco-protein stages; and NKTCL with antibodies in the latent, immediate early lytic and early lytic phases. EBNA3A, BBLF1, BDLF4, and BLRF2 IgG antibodies were associated with all cancer types.Conclusions: Our observed similarities and differences across four EBV-associated cancers may inform EBV-related oncogenesis.

Impact: Understanding the comparative humoral immune response across EBV-related cancers may aid in identifying shared etiologic roles of EBV proteins and inform unique pathogenic processes for each cancer.