Antibodies to human herpes virus-6 in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia

Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6), a ubiquitous virus that causes exanthem subitum and occasional cases of infectious mononucleosis, hepatitis and other viral syndromes, has also been associated with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in children. To further investigate this association, we obtained sera from 50 patients with ALL and 50 age-sex matched controls. Antibodies to HHV-6 were determined using ELISA and indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) tests. No significant difference between antibody titers in the cases and controls was observed. Since seroepidemiologic studies have demonstrated higher HHV-6 antibody titers in young children than in adults, this serologic study suggests that the previous association reported for HHV-6 and ALL was a result of the age of the population rather than a relationship between the virus and the disease.