title: Relationship of herpes simplex virus type-2 antibodies and squamous dysplasia to cervical carcinoma in situ.
abstract: Serum specimens from 75 women with cervical carcinoma in situ, 84 with squamous dysplasia, and 132 controls, who had previously been interviewed and tested for complement fixing antibodies against a number of organisms, were analyzed for HSV-2 antibodies. Carcinoma in situ and severe dysplasia were associated with HSV-2 antibodies. Mild dysplasia was related to evidence of prior infection by Trichomonas vaginalis, adenoviruses, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, plus a history of vaginal discharge. Severe dysplasia was less strongly related to these variables. The relative risk of dysplasia increased with the number of different pathogens by which a woman had been infected. It is concluded that HSV-2 may be a cause of carcinoma in situ; that much dysplasia is a nonspecific reaction of the cervical epithelium to chronic inflammation; and that dysplastic lesions that are caused by HSV-2, and hence may be a precursor to carcinoma in situ, tend to be distinguished by their severity.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D012306:Risk; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000276:immunology*; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral