The Association of Herpesvirus Type 2 and Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix1

Herpesvirus type 2 antibodies were detected in 78% of 41 patients with invasive carcinoma of the cervix, and in 64% of 24 patients who had been successfully treated for the disease 4 to 20 years prior to taking the test serum. Type 2 antibodies were detected in 22% of matched control women, 24% of patients with cervical dysplasia and 35% of patients with carcinoma in situ. Antibodies to the virus were not found to be associated with tumors of other sites except possibly carcinoma of the vulva. A seroepidemiologic survey for herpesvirus type 2 antibodies was performed on 266 persons of different ages from the same lower socioeconomic population from which the patients came. Antibodies to the virus did not appear until adolescence, and the antibodies occurred more frequently among prostitutes (54%) than among the control population (22%). The data support the concept of a venereal mode of spread of herpesvirus type 2 and establish an association between this virus and carcinoma of the cervix; however, further studies are required to determine whether or not the association is a causal one.