Cm. Das et al., ANTIBODY TO A MUTAGENIC PEPTIDE OF HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS IN YOUNG-ADULT PATIENTS WITH CANCER OF THE HEAD AND NECK, Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology, 75(5), 1993, pp. 610-614
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Pathology,Surgery,"Dentistry,Oral Surgery & Medicine
Cancer of the head and neck has been associated with herpes simplex vi
rus type-1 by serologic studies that have used virus particles or comp
lex mixtures of viral proteins as antigens. Recently a peptide was fou
nd to be encoded by the transforming region of the virus that is mutag
enic and is postulated to be involved in cell transformation. Sera fro
m young adult patients with head and neck cancer and from control subj
ects were examined for the presence of antibody to this peptide with t
he use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Antibody to the peptid
e was detected in many sera and showed a significant correlation with
antibody to the virus in sera from control subjects. Antipeptide antib
odies were largely of the IgM isotype, and patients had significantly
higher levels of antibody than control subjects. This study is consist
ent with an association between HSV-1 and head and neck cancer and sug
gests that this viral peptide should be investigated further for its r
ole in carcinogenesis.