Association of body cavity-based lymphoma and human herpesvirus 8 in an HIV-seronegative male - Report of a case with immunocytochemical and molecular studies

BACKGROUND: Recently lymphomas arising primarily ill serosal surfaces have been found in patients with advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AI DS), but they very rarely seem to occur in human immunodeficiency virus (HI V)-negative patients. Studies on a subset of these lymphomas suggested that they represent a distinct entity associated with Kaposi's sarcoma-associat ed herpesvirus or human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8). CASE: All 83-year-old, HIV-negative male was admitted to the hospital with a massive pleural effusion. Abdominal and chest computed tomographic scanni ng tons normal. Cytologic analysis of the pleural effusion revealed a large cell, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Polymerase chain reaction analyses on genomi c DNA from the pleural effusion demonstrated the presence of HHV-8 sequence s in the absence of Epstein-Barr virus. CONCLUSION: It is possible and advantageous to diagnose body cavity-based l ymphoma with a combination of cytologic, immunocytochemical and molecular s tudies of the pleural effusion in conjunction with clinical and radiographi c information.