American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 100, No. 2: 130-135
Copyright © 1974 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
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NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODIES TO HERPESVIRUS TYPES 1 AND 2 IN CARCINOMA OF THE CERVIX, CARCINOMA IN SITU AND CERVICAL DYSPLASIA1
McDonald, A. D. (Dept. Epidemiology and Health, McGill U., Montreal, Canada), M. C. Williams, J. Manfreda and R. West. Neutralizing antibodies to herpesvirus types 1 and 2 in carcinoma of the cervix, carcinoma in situ and cervical dysplasia. Am J Epidemiol 100: 130–135, 1974.—Neutralizing antibodies to herpesvirus types 1 and 2 were estimated by microneutralization in 57 women with invasive carcinoma of the cervix, 50 with carcinoma in situ, 39 with cervical dysplasia and equal numbers of matched controls. The ratio of type 2/type 1 herpesvirus neutralizing antibody was calculated and sera in which the ratio was 0.85 or more were called type 2. Among cases of invasive carcinoma and their controls, 20 cases (or 35%) and 12 controls (or 21%) were type 2. Hotelling's T2 test, taking into account differences in titer as well as in ratio, yielded a probability close to 0.16. For carcinoma in situ the proportions were 40.0% and 32.0% and for cervical dysplasia 30.8% and 38.4%. The controls who were from gynecological clinics had a higher prevalence of type 2 sera than women in the general population—a finding that merits investigation. The absence of a major difference in prevalence of sera type 2 in Jewish compared with non-Jewish women suggests that their different susceptibility to carcinoma of the cervix is not connected with herpesvirus experience. The findings of this survey were inconclusive.
carcinoma; cervix diseases; cervix uteri; Herpesvirus hominis
Present address: Pan American Health Organization, Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Department of Epidemiology and Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada