A search for herpes simplex virus type 2 markers in cervical carcinoma.

Carcinoma of the uterine cervix is now clearly recognized as the second most common malignant disease of women in the United States. Epidemiological studies provided the first suggestive evidence that an infectious, venereally transmitted agent was involved in this disease in either a causal or a casual fashion. Later cytohistopathological, virological, and seroepidemiological studies confirmed this observation and identified the suspect agent as herpes simplex virus type 2. Recently, several laboratories have directed their energies towards establishing lines of direct evidence linking herpes simplex virus type 2 etiologically with human cervical carcinoma. Some of these approaches have involved attempts to detect infectious virus, viral components, or virus-specific modifications in neoplastic cervical tissues. Results obtained utilizing human tissues will be reviewed and discussed.