qPCR assay showed significantly lower RNF38 expression in NPC specimens than in normal nasopharyngeal specimens (P < 0.001) (Fig. 6d), and Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a negative correlation between EBV-miR-BART8-3p and RNF38 expression (P = 0.001) (Fig. 6e). Here, RNF38 is linked to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.