Angiosarcoma in HIV-negative patients is not associated with HHV-8.

BACKGROUND:: Angiosarcoma is an aggressive, malignant neoplasm of vascular or lymphatic origin. Herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) is a member of the herpes family with a tropism for endothelial cells and it has been proven to induce vascular neoplasms, such as Kaposi's sarcoma. The role of HHV-8 in the pathogenesis of angiosarcoma has not been well defined.

OBJECTIVE:: To investigate the relationship between the presence of HHV-8 and angiosarcoma.

METHODS:: In this study, the team investigated the relationship between the presence of HHV-8, as determined by polymerase chain reaction, and angiosarcoma, using samples from patients with epidemic Kaposi's sarcoma as controls.

RESULTS:: While all control cases with epidemic Kaposi's sarcoma were positive for HHV-8, none of the angiosarcoma cases was.

CONCLUSION:: These findings support most previous studies that found no association between HHV-8 and angiosarcoma.