Antibodies to surface antigens of herpesvirus type 1- and type 2-infected cells among women with cervical cancer and control women.

Cells infected with herpesvirus type 1 or type 2 develop surface antigens which can be detected by immunofluorescence. Using the indirect immunofluorescence technique, we determined antibody titers to the surface antigens in 20 sera from persons with known type 1 virus infections, 20 sera from persons with known type 2 virus infections, 30 sera from women with cervical cancer, and 30 sera from matched control women. There was a good correlation between antibody activity to the surface antigens and neutralizing antibody activity for both herpesvirus type 1 and herpesvirus type 2 in all groups of sera examined. Women with cervical cancer did not have unusually high or low titers of antibody activity to the surface antigens. In the selected sera examined, analysis of antibodies to the surface antigens was not superior to the microneutralization test in distinguishing women with cervical cancer from control women.