title: High seroprevalence of human herpesvirus type 8 infection in males with advanced lung carcinoma.
abstract: Human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) DNA is consistently found in all types of Kaposi's sarcoma, which is prevalent in immunocompromised patients. Patients with advanced lung carcinoma often showed immunologic abnormalities, and prevalence of HHV-8 infection is unclear. In this study, blood samples from 109 lung carcinoma patients and 109 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were analyzed for lymphocyte and monocyte counts, and for antibody, DNA, and genotype of HHV-8. Lung carcinoma patients had significantly lower lymphocyte and higher monocyte counts than healthy controls (p < 0.0001, both). HHV-8 seropositivity was more prevalent in lung carcinoma patients (41.3%), particularly in male patients (50.8%), than in controls (24.8%) (p = 0.01 and 0.002, respectively). The seropositivity was also significantly higher in male (50.8%) than female patients (27.3%, p = 0.01). Titers of HHV-8 antibody in patients also significantly exceeded those in controls (p = 0.004). Under a higher threshold (antibody titer ≥1:160) which is equivalent to that of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, lung carcinoma patients still had higher HHV-8 seropositivity than controls (p = 0.006). Three patients with stage IV lung carcinoma were positive for HHV-8 DNA with K1 gene subtype C3, D1, and E, respectively; they had much lower lymphocyte counts (658 ± 132 µL) than patients positive for HHV-8 antibodies only (1,449 ± 873 µL). The study indicates that lung carcinoma patients, particularly males, have a high seroprevalence of HHV-8. HHV-8 DNA detected in the patients with advanced lung carcinoma may be a result of virus reactivation in the immunocompromised status.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, sucpo@yahoo.com.tw.
authors.forename: Cheng-Chuan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Chun-Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Shih-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.forename: Ming-Nan
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Tang-Yuan
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000150:complications*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral