Relationship between the quantity of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) in peripheral blood and effusion fluid samples and KSHV-associated disease.

The Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-DNA level was determined in samples from 71 patients with Kaposi sarcoma (KS), 28 patients with multicentric Castleman disease (MCD), and 8 patients with primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). KSHV-DNA levels were higher in patients with active KS or MCD than in those with KS or MCD in remission. Among patients with active disease, the highest KSHV-DNA levels were observed in effusion fluid samples from patients with PEL (7.2 log(10) copies/150,000 cells), followed by blood samples from patients with MCD and PEL (4.86 and 3.83 log(10) copies/150,000 cells, respectively), and the lowest levels were observed in blood samples from patients with KS (2.63 log(10) copies/150,000 cells). Determining the KSHV-DNA level may be useful in diagnosing KSHV-associated disease and for following up patients with KS when the development of MCD or PEL is suspected.