HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS AND HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS SITES CORRELATE WITH CHROMOSOMAL BREAKPOINTS IN HUMAN CERVICAL-CARCINOMA

The distribution of 1,912 breakpoints observed in a series of 148 cervical cancers was analyzed. Fifty bands were shown to be nonrandomly involved in chromosome structural rearrangements, One hundred thirty-three breaks were noted in bands known to contain a human papillomavirus integration site, and 454 breaks were noted in bands containing a herpes simplex virus breakage site. We suggest that herpes simplex viruses and, possibly, papillomaviruses play an important role in the carcinogenesis and/or development of cytogenetic abnormalities in cervical cancers.