Epstein-Barr virus in normal, pre-malignant, and malignant lesions of the uterine cervix.
AIM--To detect the presence or absence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in cervical lesions ranging from normality to invasive malignancy. METHODS--Eighteen randomly selected cases of invasive squamous cell carcinomas of the uterine cervix were examined as well as 25 cases each of normal cervices and those showing cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) I, II, and III. DNA-DNA in situ hybridisation, using a biotinylated probe to the Bam H1 "W" fragment of EBV, was carried out in addition to the polymerase chain reaction using specific primer sequences that flank a 153 base pair segment of the Bam H1 "W" region of the EBV genome and which do not cross-amplify other DNA herpes viruses. Positive control material included paraffin wax embedded P3 HR1 lymphoblastoid cells (containing high copy numbers of EBV) and two nasopharyngeal carcinomas positive for EBV. RESULTS--Neither normal nor CIN I tissue was positive. Eight per cent of CIN II tissue was positive; 8% of CIN III, and 43% of carcinomas were positive for EBV. CONCLUSION--The study shows that the virus is present in some cases of cervical carcinoma and to a lesser degree in some premalignant lesions of the cervix, but the exact association between it and cervical oncogenesis, be it causative or incidental, remains to be determined.
Landers
R J
RJ
Department of Pathology, University College Cork, Ireland.
O'Leary
J J
JJ
Crowley
M
M
Healy
I
I
Annis
P
P
Burke
L
L
O'Brien
D
D
Hogan
J
J
Kealy
W F
WF
Lewis
F A
FA
D001483:Base Sequence; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000382:microbiology*; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000382:microbiology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000382:microbiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000382:microbiology*
D004279:DNA, Viral