Monoclonal antibody to HSV2 protein as an immunodiagnostic marker in cervical cancer

The present study was designed to evaluate the possible use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as diagnostic adjuncts to exfoliative cytology and tissue sections in intraepithelial (CIN) and invasive cervical cancer. Specimens were collected from 42 patients with various degrees of CIN, 15 patients with invasive cancer and two patients with condylomatous changes only. mAb H17, that recognizes a herpes simplex virus protein (ICP) representing a component of the viral ribonucleotide reductase, stained atypical exfoliated cells from 55% of patients with mild dysplasia and 100% of those with more severe lesions. The mean percentage of positive atypical cells increased as a function of the grading of CIN (32.6 +/- 6.3%, 63.5 +/- 2.7%, 67.9 +/- 8.1%, 81.4 +/- 10.1%, and 85.6 +/- 2.0% for mild, moderate, and marked dysplasia, CIS, and invasive cancer, respectively). Only a very small proportion of atypical cells from only two patients stained with a mAb to another herpes simplex virus protein (gA/B). Normal squamous, metaplastic, inflammatory, or koilocytotic cells did not stain with the mAbs. Of the 15 cases examined by cryostatic fresh sections with immunohistochemical techniques, only one case of invasive cancer did not stain with mAb anti-ICP, and all controls were negative. The high specificity and sensitivity of MAbH17 suggests that it may be a useful diagnostic/prognostic marker in CIN.