Abstract

Kaposi's sarcoma was endemic in South Africa even before the advent of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Between 1988 and 1996, the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma in South Africa has risen at least threefold and continues to increase as the HIV epidemic grows. Research from South Africa has shown that infection with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is associated with Kaposi's sarcoma but not with any other major cancer site or type. In addition, the risk of Kaposi's sarcoma increases with increasing antibody titer to HHV8, but, for a given titer, the risk is greater in HIV-seropositive compared with HIV-seronegative individuals. The age- and sex-standardized seroprevalence of HHV8 in black South African hospital patients was found to be slightly more than 30%; the seroprevalence of HHV8 increased with age and was similar in men and in women. The modes of transmission of HHV8 are yet to be fully elucidated. Limited evidence exists for sexual transmission in black South African adults, but mother-to-child and person-to-person transmission in childhood is also likely. Furthermore, the seroprevalence of HHV8 decreases with increasing levels of education and is lower in whites than in blacks, suggesting that factors associated with poverty may be important determinants of transmission. Future research should focus on risk factors for Kaposi's sarcoma in HHV8-infected individuals, on determinants and mode of transmission of HHV8, and on the elucidation of the effect of primary HHV8 infection in adults and in children. © Oxford University Press « Previous | Next Article » Table of Contents This Article J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr (2000) 2000 (28): 1-4. This article appears in: Third National AIDS Malignancy Conference; International Symposium on HIV, Leukemia, and Opportunistic Cancers » Abstract Free Full Text (HTML) Free Full Text (PDF) Free Classifications Article Services Article metrics Alert me when cited Alert me if corrected Find similar articles Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Add to my archive Download citation Request Permissions Citing Articles Load citing article information Citing articles via CrossRef Citing articles via Scopus Citing articles via Web of Science Citing articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sitas, F. Articles by Newton, R. Search for related content PubMed PubMed citation Articles by Sitas, F. Articles by Newton, R. Related Content Load related web page information Share Email this article CiteULike Delicious Facebook Google+ Mendeley Twitter What's this? 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