Herpes simplex virus type 2 and human papillomavirus type 16 in cervicitis, dysplasia and invasive cervical carcinoma

Sera and biopsies of cervical lesions from 55 women with benign or malignant disease were analyzed for evidence of infection with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV‐2) or human papillomavirus (HPV). In addition, information regarding known risk factors for cervical cancer was obtained by interview. The sera were tested for HSV‐2 antibodies and the biopsies were tested for HPV or HSV DNA sequences by Southern blot hybridization. HSV‐2 sequences were detected in 2/13 (15%) invasive neoplasms and in 1/12 (7%) benign lesions. Under non‐stringent conditions of hybridization, reactions with HPV DNA were detected in biopsies of 2/17 (12%) inflammatory lesions, 6/12 (50%) intraepithelial neoplasms and 13/20 (65%) invasive neoplasms. All but one of the positive biopsies of invasive cancer, but only 4/11 biopsies of non‐invasive lesions, contained HPV‐16 DNA as determined by stringent hybridization conditions. Women with cervical cancer possessed the risk factors associated with the disease. Cigarette smoking and the presence of HPV‐16 DNA were the most prominent risk factors. No evidence of an interaction between HSV‐2 and HPV‐16 was found among the cases of invasive cervical cancer.