Antibodies to genital herpesvirus in patients with carcinoma of the cervix

Abstract

Herpesvirus type 2, which infects primarily genital sites, has been implicated as a possible carcinogen in carcinoma of the cervix. In the present study, antibodies to the virus were found among 83 per cent of women with invasive carcinoma and in about one third of women with carcinoma in situ. Antibodies were found in 22 and 9 per cent of control groups of women from lower and higher socioeconomic classes, respectively. Analysis of the occurrence of antibodies by age among women with carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinoma suggests that the acquisition of the antibodies precedes rather than follows the development of the neoplastic changes.