Sera from patients with nasopharyngeal cancer, Burkitt's lymphoma, and primary infection with herpes simplex virus, and sera from controls were tested for antibodies to herpes simplex virus by the complement-fixation test and for antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus by fluorescent-antibody test. Sera from patients with nasopharyngeal cancer contained elevated levels of antibody to both herpes simplex and Epstein-Barr viruses, whereas sera from patients with Burkitt's lymphoma contained elevated levels of antibody to Epstein-Barr virus only. Titers of antibodies to subunits of herpes simplex virus in the sera of patients with nasopharyngeal cancer were higher than those in control sera. The levels of antibody were markedly similar to those in convalescent-phase sera of individuals with recent primary infection with herpes simplex virus. The antibody profiles of some patients with nasopharyngeal cancer were consistent with reactivated, latent infection with herpes simplex virus.
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Palmer et al. (1972) studied this question.
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