Immune response of prostatic cancer patients to cytomegalovirus-infected and -transformed human cells

Abstract
The indirect immunofluorescence test was used to determine the prevalence of humoral immunity to cytomegalovirus (CMV)‐induced antigens in prostatic cancer patients as compared to age‐matched controls. Significantly more prostatic cancer patients demonstrated high CMV‐antibody titers than did the benign prostatic hyperplasia and nonurogenital cancer groups; however, no significant difference in reactivity was found between patients with prostatic cancer and transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. When screened against CMV‐transformed human cell lines, the reactivity of the sera followed the rate of expression of CMV‐related antigens of cell lines used in these tests. Cancer 42:1766–1771, 1978.