AG-4 complement-fixing antibodies in cervical cancer and herpes-infected patients using local herpes simplex virus type 2.

The incidence of anti-AG-4 complement-fixing antibodies in Australian cervical carcinoma (CaCx), herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2, and control patients, was investigated using local HSV strains. The local HSV strains (both HSV-IMI and HSV-2MI) were found, by neutralization experiments, to vary from the American prototype strains. All HSV-2-strains tested were able to induce AG-4 in 4-h infected HEp-2 cells. Anti-AG-4-complement-fixing antibodies were detected in 40% of dysplasia patients, 60% of carcinoma-in-situ patients, 75% of CaCx patients, 65% of CaCx post-operative patients, 88% of HSV-2 patients with active lesions, 10% of HSV-1 patients with active lesions, 10--20% of normal patients and 20% of patients with cancer, other than CaCx. The AG-4 test is tumour-specific in that it distinguishes CaCx from other cancer patients tested, but it cannot distinguish HSV-2 patients from CaCx patients.