Microquantitative complement fixation was used to de tect antibody to AG-4, a tumor-associated herpesvirus type 2-induced antigen, in sera from Japanese patients with cer vical neoplasia. The prevalence of antibody to AG-4 in cervi

Microquantitative complement fixation was used to de tect antibody to AG-4, a tumor-associated herpesvirus type 2-induced antigen, in sera from Japanese patients with cer vical neoplasia. The prevalence of antibody to AG-4 in cervi cal cancer patients is 47% as compared to 7% in control women. That AG-4 antibody is less prevalent in Japanese than in American cancer patients reflects the frequency of genital herpesvirus type 2 infections in Japan. These find ings confirm the association ofAG-4 with cervical cancer in a proportion of Japanese patients with neoplastic disease; they implicate factors other than herpesvirus type 2 in an other proportion of cervical cancer patients. The possibility that herpesvirus type i is one of these factors is considered.