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Association of herpesvirus infection with the development of genital cancer
Author(s) -
Koffa Maria,
Koumantakis Eugenios,
Ergazaki Maria,
Tsatsanis Christos,
Spandidos Demetrios A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910630112
Subject(s) - genital herpes , sex organ , cancer , medicine , virology , immunology , biology , virus , genetics , herpes simplex virus
Abstract Clinical observations and epidemiological studies on genital cancer have revealed an association with sexual behavior, thus motivating research into sexually transmitted agents which may be responsible for the neoplasia. In this study, we used the PCR technique to examine the presence of CMV, HSV and EBV viruses in 187 cases of human genital lesions and found that infection with CMV or HSV was associated with cervical cancer. When we stratified according to HPV status this association was found only for HPV‐DNA‐negative cases. These findings indicate that past infection with CMV or HSV could be interpreted as a surrogate marker of HPV infection. However, these viruses may play an important role themselves in cervical cancer.