Sex partners and herpes simplex virus type 2 in the epidemiology of cancer of the cervix.

The authors examined the interaction of exposure to various numbers of sex partners and evidence of antibodies to herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in cervical neoplasia in 181 cases of cervical dysplasia, carcinoma in situ and cancer of the cervix and 130 control patients in Los Angeles County, California hospitals, in 1974-1979. Studies by the authors and other investigators have found that risk of cancer of the cervix was enhanced with numbers of sex partners, frequency and duration of using the vaginal douche, early age at first pregnancy, and antibodies to HSV-2 as measured by radioimmunoassay. In this study, it was found that for women with only one or no sex partner in their history, risk was elevated if evidence of antibodies to HSV-2 were present. The same was true for women with two or more sex partners. The risk associated with two or more sex partners was not higher than that for women with one sex partner among those positive for HSV-2, and among those negative for HSV-2. Thus, although this inquiry needs replication on larger numbers of women, whatever the other microorganisms or carcinogens patients were exposed to with multiple sex partners, there was no apparent effect beyond the fact that HSV-2 raises the risk of cancer of the cervix. This may strengthen credence in the hypothesis that HSV-2 is an etiologic factor in cervical cancer.