Human herpesvirus 8 seroprevalence among prostate cancer case patients and control subjects

To investigate a possible association between human herpesvirus 8 ( HHV- 8) and prostate cancer, we evaluated HHV-8 seroprevalence in 2 case- control studies. HHV- 8 antibodies were detected by immunofluorescence with cells expressing lytic viral proteins and by enzyme immunoassays with recombinant viral structural protein ( K8.1) and latent protein ( latency- associated nuclear antigen - 1; open reading frame 73), respectively. HHV- 8 seroprevalence tended to be lower in patients with prostate cancer than in control subjects, but there was no significant difference in either study. These data imply that HHV- 8 is not a major prevalent cause of prostate cancer.