Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a malignant tumor of the upper respiratory tract's epithelial cells that is more common in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa than elsewhere in the world. According to research, Epstein-Barr virus plays an important part in the development of this cancer.Persistent EBV infection in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells promotes tumorigenesis by activating key signaling pathways, including NF-κB and PI3K/AKT, via viral genes such as LMP1 and EBERs. This leads to cell cycle dysregulation, immune evasion, and enhanced survival of malignant cells. EBV has been shown to generate specific circular RNAs (circRNAs) from the BART and RPMS1 regions, including circRPMS1 and circBART2.2, which modulate host miRNAs, trigger immune-related pathways such as IRF3/NF-κB, and upregulate PD-L1, thereby facilitating immune escape, invasiveness, and tumor progression. This review, based on a comprehensive search of Google Scholar, PubMed, and SID databases up to 2025, summarizes the role of EBV and its circRNAs in the initiation and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma Epstein–Barr virus circRNA circRPMS1.