INTESTINAL PERFORATION COMPLICATING PRIMA RY CYTOMEGALOVIRUS-INFECTION IN A PATIENT RECEIVING TREATMENT FOR TESTICULAR CANCER

Intestinal perforation is a rare complication of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection seen mainly in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), The prognosis is bleak since antiviral agents have li mited efficacy in CMV infection complicating AIDS, The defect in cell- mediated immunity may allow reactivation of latent CMV, which may caus e vasculitis and perforation of the intestinal tract, Most of the few reported cases in patients without AIDS were associated with hematolog ic malignancies, The first case in a patient receiving chemotherapy fo r a solid tumor (testicular cancer) is reported herein, The intestinal perforation was probably due to primary cytomegalovirus infection, Th e value of ganciclovir as curative therapy after surgical repair of th e intestinal lesion and/or as prophylactic therapy during subsequent c hemotherapy courses is unclear. The relevant literature is reviewed.