HHV8 AND KAPOSIS-SARCOMA - A TIME COHORT STUDY

Aims-The recent finding that human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) is found in t he majority of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) cases supports the epidemiologica l observation that the tumour may be caused by an infectious agent. Th is study aimed to address when and how HHV8 evolved. Methods-A cohort of African endemic KS (49 samples from 45 patients) and European KS (1 8 samples from 13 patients), spanning 27 years, was assessed for the p resence of HHV8 by both standard solution phase polymerase chain react ion (PCR) and the newly described technique of TaqMan PCR. Results-HHV 8 was present in approximately 49% (24 of 49 tissue samples) of the Af rican cases and in more than 90% (16 of 18 tissue samples) of the Euro pean cohort, in keeping with recent seroepidemiological data. Conclusi ons-HHV8 is strongly linked to the development of KS; however, in some patients, other factors may operate. The utility and flexibility of T aqMan PCR in detecting low copy viral target in human tissues was demo nstrated.