High risk of Kaposi's sarcoma and central nervous system lymphoma in the same individuals: a finding related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Metachronous bilateral soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Synchronous and heterochronous multiple soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities is very rare. Out of 1,201 of our patients, 4 patients presented with symmetrical bilateral soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities. The aim of this study was to identify possible reasons for this unusual manifestation of sarcomas.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The patients' data was acquired by review of the patients' charts and follow-up information was gathered by phone calls to the patients or their relatives and their general practitioners.

RESULTS

All tumours were located at the extremities and were diagnosed as leiomyosarcoma in two patients, malignant fibrous histiocytoma and clear cell sarcoma in one patient each. No other individual or family history of cumulation of neoplasms was known in the patients. The median interval between the diagnoses was 3 1/2 years (range: 4 months to 9 1/2 years). In two patients a second primary sarcoma of the same entity was considered the most likely diagnosis, whereas in one patient a contralateral lymph node metastasis and in one other patient an atypical soft tissue metastasis had to be taken into account. A positive family history with a father with malignant fibrous histiocytoma may indicate a hereditary predisposition in one patient. Aside from irradiation effects, exposition to other carcinogenic agents or genetic predisposition, the reasons for the clustering of soft tissue sarcoma in one same patient remain still unclear. Only one patient, although suffering from disseminated metastatic disease was living at follow-up time, the other three patients had already died.

CONCLUSION

The interpretation of the bilateral manifestation of soft tissue sarcoma remains open, but predicts an unfavourable outcome.

Multiple primary malignancies in association with soft tissue sarcomas

BACKGROUND

Modern cancer treatment has increased the survival of patients with various malignancies substantially. One of the late sequelae of successful treatment is the development of a second malignant tumor. However, in many cases of second primary tumors, exposure to chemotherapy or radiation therapy is not evident, and it should be postulated that the putative mechanism for the development of the second tumor is different. In the current series, the association between soft tissue sarcoma (STS) in adults and the development of other primary malignancies was studied.

METHODS

A retrospective search of the data files of 610 patients with STS or bone sarcomas who were treated at the study institution between January 1995 and December 1999 was performed. All files regarding patients with STS who developed a second malignant tumor were retrieved for analysis.

RESULTS

Of 375 patients with STS, 28 (7.5%) developed other malignant neoplasms either before or after the diagnosis of STS. STS as the first tumor occurred in 14 patients (ages 16-72 years). Only three patients were treated with chemotherapy for their sarcoma. Radiation therapy was administered to five patients as an adjuvant to surgery for the first tumor. The second tumor types mainly included STS and renal cell carcinoma. The time interval between the diagnosis of the STS and the second malignancy was 0 (for synchronous tumors) to 21 years. Three patients developed a third primary tumor within 3 years after the diagnosis of the second tumor. The median overall survival was > 78 months. Fourteen patients (ages 35-87 years) had a first primary tumor other than STS (mainly breast carcinoma and genitourinary malignancies). The second tumors (mainly STS) appeared within 0 (for synchronous tumors) to 27 years. The median overall survival for the 14 patients in this group from the time of diagnosis of the first tumor was > 102 months.

CONCLUSIONS

The phenomenon of two or three primary neoplasms developing in patients in whom one of the tumors was STS occurs at a rate of 7.5%, a significantly higher rate than that reported for the occurrence of STS among the general cancer population (1%). The majority of cases occur incidentally. The clinical implication includes the need to search for an occult second primary tumor in patients with STS as an integral part of their follow-up. This is especially true in patients with primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma who demonstrate a risk for developing a renal cell carcinoma.

HHV-8/KSHV is not associated with AIDS-related primary central nervous system lymphoma

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a major complication of the late stages of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infection is the only genetic lesion consistently associated with this neoplasia. Recently, it has been proposed that the pathogenesis of AIDS-related PCNSL (AIDS-PCNSL) may be associated with infection by human herpesvirus-8/Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus (HHV-8/KSHV), although at present such association remains controversial. In order to conclusively assess the link between HHV-8/KSHV infection and AIDS-PCNSL, we performed a comprehensive study based on multiple molecular assays on cerebral tissues and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as well as specific immunologic assays on patients' sera. A well characterized panel of 33 Italian patients with AIDS-PCNSL and 13 controls with other HIV-related brain focal diseases from the same geographical area was analyzed. No signs of HHV-8/KSHV infection were detected in cerebral tissues by single-step PCR. Cerebral tissues of all AIDS-PCNSL scored negative for HHV-8/KSHV DNA sequences also by nested PCR, with the exception of one single patient who was simultaneously affected by Kaposi's sarcoma. All CSF samples analyzed were consistently devoid of HHV-8/KSHV sequences by molecular assays. By serologic assays, detecting both latent and lytic HHV-8/KSHV antigens, a specific immunoreactivity was observed in 16/33 (48%) AIDS-PCNSL and in 6/13 (46%) controls (P = 0.88). A significant correlation with HHV-8/KSHV serum reactivity was seen with a homosexual route of HIV transmission (P = 0.018), but not with the presence of AIDS-PCNSL. The results of our analysis conclusively assess that HHV-8/KSHV infection is not a feature of AIDS-PCNSL.

Kaposi's sarcoma and human herpesvirus-8

KS is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among AIDS patients and a treatment problem in the sporadic cases that are not associated with HIV. All four forms of the disease are linked to a newly described herpesvirus, HHV-8 or KSHV, via strong epidemiologic associations and biologic plausibility as a causal agent. HHV-8 is also epidemiologically associated with body cavity-based lymphomas, which are almost unique to AIDS, and Castleman's disease. Existing radiation and chemotherapeutic treatments of KS are only partially effective and cause significant adverse effects. New preventive approaches and therapies aimed at inhibiting HHV-8 may be effective. New treatments that interfere with the molecular mechanisms that drive KS may, in the future, provide the best opportunities to control the disease.

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus type 8 encephalitis in HIV-positive and -negative individuals

OBJECTIVE

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) has been associated with Kaposi's sarcoma and a variety of benign lymphoid proliferations including angioimmunoblastic lymphadenitis with dysproteinemia and Castleman's disease. KSHV/HHV-8 has also been associated with inflammatory conditions including interstitial pneumonitis. Although herpesviruses are commonly associated with encephalitis in immunosuppressed individuals, KSHV/HHV-8 has not previously been associated with central nervous system disease other than lymphoma. The first cases of KSHV/HHV-8 associated encephalitis have been described.

METHODS AND DESIGN

KSVH/HHV-8 sequences were evaluated in brain biopsies from three cases of otherwise unexplained encephalitis from three patients, two of whom were positive for HIV. Amplification of the polymerase chain reaction product was confirmed with Southern blot hybridization on three separate occasions, and with appropriate positive and negative controls.

RESULTS

All three cases of encephalitis were associated with KSHV/HHV-8 sequences. Characteristic lesions included endothelial cell swelling and perivascular cuffing by lymphocytes.

CONCLUSIONS

KSHV/HHV-8 was associated with encephalitis in immunosuppressed individuals, and should have been considered in the differential diagnosis of unexplained viral encephalitis. KSHV/HHV-8 may have tropism for the central nervous system.