The Relationship between Herpes Virus 2 and Cervical Cancer

The cpi<lemiologic features of carcinoma cf the cervix indicate that environmental factors play a role in the occurrence cf the disease. The d:sease occurs more frequently in women who have multiple sex pari:ners, consort with uncircumcised men and who begin heterosexual activity early in life. These demographic fea­tures have led to the hypothe.s'"s that the cfo:-ease may be causeJ. by a venereally transmitted factor.  Herpes genit3.lis appears to be a vener0al di­sease. A f:eroepidemiologic survey for heq:::svirns tY})e 2 antibodies was performed on 266 per­sons of different ages from the same lower so­cioe·conomic population from which the pati­ents came. Antibodies to the virus did not appear until adolescence, and the antibodies oc­curred more frequently among prostitutes ( 54%) than among the control population (22%). The data support the concept of a venereal mode of spread of herpesvirus type 2 and establish an association between this virus and carcinoma of the cervix; however, further studies are required to determine whether or not the association is a causal one.