Epidemiological Studies Relating Genital Herpetic Infection to Cervical Carcinoma

Summary A large number of epidemiological studies, with a variety of different approaches, have focused in the past decade on the relation of genital herpetic or herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection to cervical cancer. The results reported here of the high frequency of HSV-2 antibodies in young women (≤21 years) with cervical carcinoma in situ and in women with dysplasia or carcinoma in situ , matched for various sexual attributes to control women, provide support for a causal relation. Nevertheless, the various laboratory, histopathological, and statistical problems associated with all epidemiological studies conducted to date do not yet permit a firm conclusion to be reached as to the etiological role of the genital virus in cervical carcinogenesis. With improvement in laboratory technology, such as the use of herpes-related cancer antigens or purified HSV-2 typespecific antigens, and with the possible development of protective HSV-2 vaccines, the application of epidemiological approaches will probably be necessary to provide the most finite evidence of causality.