title: Human herpes virus-8 DNA in bronchoalveolar lavage samples from patients with AIDS-associated pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma.
abstract: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most frequent AIDS-associated neoplasm, and often disseminates to visceral organs, including the lungs. An ante-mortem diagnosis of pulmonary KS is difficult. Recently, DNA sequences resembling a new human herpes virus (HHV-8), have been identified in various forms of KS. We hypothesized that these sequences are present in samples obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in patients with pulmonary KS. Utilizing a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 7/12 BAL cell samples from HIV-infected patients with endobronchial KS were positive for HHV-8 DNA. In contrast, only 2/39 samples from HIV-infected patients without evidence of KS were positive (p = 0.007). Detection of HHV-8 in BAL cells of patients with pulmonary KS was highly specific (95%), with a sensitivity of 58% and a positive predictive value of 78%. In conclusion, HHV-8 is associated with pulmonary KS, and PCR amplification of HHV-8 in BAL cells provides a non-invasive method with a high positive predictive value.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Benfield
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Dodt
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lundgren
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000821:virology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001727:Bisexuality; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000821:virology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000821:virology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral