[Etiological role of the herpes simplex virus in causing cervical cancer]

The results of the composite virological and immunological examinations of 46 patients with cervical carcinoma (CC) attest to the association of herpes simplex virus (HSV) with neoplastic processes. HSV strains were isolated from the tumour tissue as well as from the cervical canal secretions and blood of 4 patients. A higher level of virus-neutralizing and complement-fixing antibodies to HSV was found in sera from CC patients as compared with the control group of normal women. Antibody to HSV type 2 was found in 38.8% of sera from the patients and 12.6% in the control group. Lymphocytes from CC patients induced blasttransformation reaction to HSV twice as frequently as those from healthy subjects. The virus-specific antigen was found in tumour cells of 36% CC patients in immunofluorescent examinations of smears from the cervix. The presented results are related to the determination of the etiological role of HSV in cervical carcinoma.