Serum antibodies and subsequent cervical neoplasms: a prospective study with 12 years of follow-up

Approximately 40,000 blood samples drawn in 1968-1972 by the Social Insurance Institution's mobile clinic in Finland have been stored. Linking cancer incidence data obtained from the Finnish Cancer Registry with this material yielded 32 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed after drawing of the blood sample. These 32 individuals and 64 matched controls were analyzed for serum antibodies indicative of past infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and herpes simplex virus type 2. After adjustment for smoking and other sexually transmitted diseases, antibodies to C. trachomatis showed the strongest association with cervical cancer (odds ratio = 5.0 (95% confidence interval 1.6-15.7)), but the numbers were too small for drawing conclusions as to the sexually transmitted diseases with which cervical cancer is most specifically associated.