Scand J Infect Dis. 1997;29(1):13-6. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
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.
*AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/VIROLOGY *Bronchoalveolar Lavage
Fluid/VIROLOGY *DNA, Viral/ANALYSIS *Herpesvirus, Kaposi's
Sarcoma-Associated/ISOLATION & PURIF *Lung Neoplasms/VIROLOGY
*Sarcoma, Kaposi's/VIROLOGY