Antibodies to herpesvirus type 1 and type 2 among Japanese cervical cancer patients

Antibodies to herpesvirus type 1 and type 2 were examined in 69 Japanese females with cancer of uterine cervix, which included cases of cervical dysplasia (7 cases), carcinoma in situ (9 cases), and invasive carcinoma (53 cases), and 112 matched controls. The presence of antibodies to type 2 virus was 42% in cervical dysplasia, 11% in carcinoma in situ, and 28% in invasive carcinoma, while such was 15% in matched controls. Mean antibody titer in log10 was 2.12 to type 1 and 1.65 to type 2 in women with invasive carcinoma, and 2.14 to type 1 and 1.67 to type 2 in the matched controls. The findings presented here did not support an association of type 2 virus infection with the occurrence of cervical cancer.