Primary effusion lymphoma in women: report of two cases of Kaposi's sarcoma herpes virus-associated effusion-based lymphoma in human immunodeficiency virus-negative women. Blood

Recent molecular evidence suggests an association with a new herpes virus, Kaposi‘s sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV/HHV-8), and primary effusion lymphomas (PEL). PELS have a characteristic morphology, phenotype, and clinical presentation with malignant effusions in the absence of a contiguous solid tumor mass. Most cases of PEL have oc-curred in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive male patients who are coinfected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This report describes two cases of PEL in HIV- and EBV-negative women. In one patient, a pleural cavity PEL was preceded by classic Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) of the lower ex-tremities. In the second patient, PEL developed in an artificial ECENTLY, KAPOSI’S SARCOMA-associated herpes virus (KSHV or HHV-8) has been associated with Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and primary effusion lymphoma