Herpes simplex virus type 2 and cancer: A medical geography approach

✍ Scribed by Frédéric Thomas; Eric Elguero; Jacques Brodeur; Jerome Le Goff; Dorothée Missé

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 185 KB
• Volume: 11
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1567-1348
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2011.04.009

✦ Synopsis

Herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) has been identified as a possible aetiological agent of cancer in humans, especially prostate cancer, but results remain controversial. Here, we have addressed this question using a medical geography approach based on the national incidence of various cancers and seroprevalence of HSV-2 in 64 countries worldwide. We corrected reports of cancer incidence for national gross domestic product (GDP) because living in a wealthy nation likely increases the probability of having a cancer detected. Data were also corrected for latitude and diet. Our analysis not only confirms that prostate cancer and HSV-2 seroprevalence are positively associated, but it also reveals the existence of a positive relationship between HSV-2 and melanoma incidence in both men and women. These results, though correlational, suggest that HSV-2 should continue to be investigated as a possible oncogenic pathogen of humans.