The negative association between a history of recurrent herpes labialis and cervical neoplasia

We considered the possibility that herpetic recurrences and herpes virus associated neoplasia are mutually exclusive disorders because they are expressions of different herpes virus-host relationships. We assumed that the human body copes with orofacial and genital herpes infections in the same manner. In our retrospective study, the relative risk of a history of fever blisters for cervical neoplasia was estimated to be 0.49, with 0.34 and 0.69 as the limits of the 95% confidence interval. It is suggested that recurrent herpes labialis is presumably a determinant of an effective immune response in general.