TY - JOUR TI - Human herpesvirus-8 seropositivity and clinical correlations in HIV-1-positive and highly exposed, persistently HIV-seronegative individuals in Greece AU - Panayiotakopoulos, GD AU - Mavroyianni, D AU - Politou, M AU - Aroni, K and AU - Kosmopoulou, O AU - Kontos, AN AU - Choremi-Papadopoulou, H and AU - Pediaditis, J AU - Kordossis, T JO - AIDS Patient Care and STDs PY - 2005 VL - 19 TODO - 6 SP - 375-383 PB - MARY ANN LIEBERT INC PUBL SN - 1087-2914, 1557-7449 TODO - 10.1089/apc.2005.19.375 TODO - null TODO - The prevalence of anti-human herpesvirus 8 (HHV- 8) antibodies was retrospectively assessed in a cohort of 248 consecutive HIV-1-positive patients followed up in an academic unit in Greece during a 14-year period and in 46 highly exposed, persistently HIV-seronegative (HEPS) individuals. The impact of the initial anti-HHV-8 status on tumorgenesis and mortality was studied. The first available serum sample from the department’s pool was tested. Demographics and data regarding history of sexually transmitted diseases, Hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) and hepatitis C (HCV) status were collected. Patients who developed either HHV-8-related or non-HHV-8-related neoplasms during long-term follow-up were also identified. Forty-eight percent of the HIV-1-positive patients and 56% of the HEPS subjects were found anti-HHV-8-positive. No difference was observed regarding the development of HHV-8-related or non-HHV-8-related neoplasia and mortality on grounds of initial anti-HHV- 8 status. Mortality was positively associated with the presence of HBsAg. HCV infection showed a trend to be more common in anti-HHV-8-positive patients. In summary, the seroprevalence of HHV-8 among HIV-1- positive patients is higher than the one reported in the Western world. The initial anti-HHV-8 status is not a prognostic factor in HIV-1- positive individuals. The high seroprevalence in HEPS individuals possibly reflects their risk- prone lifestyle. HbsAg-positive status is a long- term negative prognostic factor in HIV infection. ER -