Abstract

PIP: Type 2 herpes simplex virus belongs to the herpes virus group, members of which have been shown to cause cancer in animals -- kidney cancer in frogs, lymphoid cancer in chickens and rabbits, and lung cancer in sheep. A herpes virus causes Burkett's lymphoma in humans; another causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans. Herpes simplex viruses are common in humans in cervical and vaginal sores in women and in the genital tract in men (an estimated 15% of men older than 15). It is transmitted venereally. Type 2 herpes simplex virus has been epidemiologically associated with cervical cancer. It has been found in prostate cancer cells. In a hybridization experiment with DNA from cervical cancer cells, DNA from type 2 herpes simplex virus was found, but 60% of the viral DNA molecule was missing. In the chicken lymphoid cancer caused by a herpes virus, live virus vaccine eradicated the disease. This suggests that, if type 2 herpes simplex virus is found to cause cervical cancer, a vaccination cure can be developed.