Testing patients with uveal melanoma for herpesvirus infections

Results of comprehensive ELISA tests of blood serum for the presence of IgM-, IgA-, and IgG-antibodies to herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvirus 6, human herpes virus 8 type, Chlamydia trachomatis in 38 patients with uveal melanoma are presented. The polymerase chain reaction was used to detect DNA of these pathogens in tumor biopsies, vitreous body of 10 enucleated eyes, as well as in plasma IgG-antibodies to HHV 6 were revealed in 50% of patients; IgG-antibodies to HHV 8, in 5.3% of patients. Among the 16 patients with uveal melanoma at advanced stages, 6 patients had antibodies indicative of EBV reactivation (1.2-3.3). Chlamydia trachomatis genome was detected in both biopsies; in one of them, in conjunction with EBV and CMV DNA . Tissue samples from the identified infectious agents were related only to the spindle-cell histologic type AB of uveal melanoma. In plasma, genomes of pathogens were not determined. The results indicate the presence of infectious agents in patients with uveal melanoma and require further study of the pathogenetic role of infections in the pathogenesis of uveal melanoma.