These results are the first to reveal that activation of the integrated stress response plays an essential role in reactivating the lytic form of EBV infection in normal oral epithelial cells and NPC tumor cells and suggest that inhibition of the ISR by LMP1 promotes the development of early NPC both by inhibiting epithelial cell differentiation and preventing lytic EBV reactivation. This evidence concerns the gene PDLIM7 and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.