Gene ontology analysis identified cell adhesion and EMT as two significantly affected processes in both groups, and CLDN3, ID1, CYFIP3, HLX3, TGM2, HGF, IL6 and TGFβ were the common changed genes in cell adhesion junction and EMT, which was in accordance with the results from single-cell transcriptomic analysis of endothelial cells in EBV positive NPC specimens [33] (Supplementary Figs. S9A and S9B). Here, HGF is linked to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.