Antibodies to human herpes virus‐6 and clinical course in patients with Hodgkin's disease

Serial serum samples from 37 patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and 39 healthy controls were studied for antibodies to human herpes virus‐6 (HHV‐6) using ELISA and indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) tests and to the Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) using a radio‐complement fixation assay. Antibodies to HHV‐6 in the pre‐treatment sera from the HD patients were not significantly different from those of controls, but significant changes in titers related to clinical course were noted among the HD patients. HHV‐6 IFA titers increased significantly in the course of follow‐up in patients who relapsed and decreased significantly over time in patients who did not. These serologic studies support tissue‐based investigations indicating that EBV plays a greater etiologic role in HD than HHV‐6, although HHV‐6 serology may be of prognostic value or may assist in identifying individuals with immunologic abnormalities. The identification of diverse HHV‐6 antibody patterns using different assays may reflect the presence of a number of antibodies with varying implications, similar to those identified for EBV.