HHV8 AND FEMALE KAPOSIS-SARCOMA

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is an enigmatic tumour of uncertain histogenesis , Epidemiological data have long suggested that KS may be caused by an infectious agent, possibly sexually transmitted, Following the docume ntation of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) and its strong association with all forms of KS, it now appears that the putative agent has at last be en identified, As KS is rare in females, a unique group was screened f or the presence of HHV8 using both conventional solution-phase polymer ase chain reaction (PCR) and the newly described technique of TaqMan(R ) PCR, The presence of HHV8 was demonstrated in 10/12 of these female patients, This further supports the direct role of HHV8, in conjunctio n with cytokines and other factors, in the pathogenesis of KS, (C) 199 7 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.