Association of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection with cervical cancer: isolation of CMV from cell cultures derived from cervical biopsy.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) was isolated from cell cultures derived from 2 of 10 cervical cancer biopsies from patients in an advanced stage of the disease. Five serial passages were necessary before extensive cytopathic changes characteristic of CMV infection appeared. All patients tested had complement-fixing antibodies to both isolates in higher titers than to the prototype AD169 strain. 6 of 8 patients tested also had herpesvirus type 2 antibodies.