{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,26]],"date-time":"2026-01-26T18:20:52Z","timestamp":1769451652782,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,25]],"date-time":"2026-01-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769299200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The characteristics and prognosis of HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma (KS) among people living with HIV (PLWH), and their association with HHV-8 viral load are not well understood in Japan. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of PLWH diagnosed with KS at Tokyo Medical University from 2000 to 2023. Results: Seventy cases of KS were identified; HHV-8 viral load data were available for twenty-three of these cases. The median age was 43 years (interquartile range [IQR], 11 years). The median HIV viral load at diagnosis was 150,000 copies\/mL (IQR, 560,000 copies\/mL). The median CD4 count was 76.0\/\u03bcL (IQR, 157\/\u03bcL). Lesions other than those of the skin were observed in the gastrointestinal tract (nine cases, 39.1%), oropharynx (three cases, 13.0%), and bronchial\/lung (two cases, 8.7%). The median HHV-8 viral load was 0.0 copies\/106 WBC (IQR, 1500 copies\/106 WBC). Among the nine deceased PLWH, KS inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS) was diagnosed in five PLWH. Older age (\u226550 years) and a high HHV-8 viral load (&gt;615 copies\/106 WBCs) were significantly associated with worse survival. Conclusion: A high HHV-8 viral load may be a risk factor for mortality in PLWH with KS. Notably, all PLWH diagnosed with KICS in this study died, underscoring the poor prognosis associated with this condition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v18020161","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,26]],"date-time":"2026-01-26T08:14:23Z","timestamp":1769415263000},"page":"161","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Retrospective Cohort Study on HHV-8 Viral Load and Prognosis in HIV-Associated Kaposi Sarcoma Among People Living with HIV in Japan"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2502-6955","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"K.","family":"Ishikawa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo 160-8402, Japan"},{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, Edogawa Hospital, Tokyo 133-0052, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"T.","family":"Muramatsu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Kaneko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Y.","family":"Harada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"R.","family":"Miyashita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Y.","family":"Kamikubo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"T.","family":"Yamaguchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"A.","family":"Ichiki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6867-3613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Y.","family":"Chikasawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Bingo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1292-1707","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"R.","family":"Sekiya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5771-7190","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M.","family":"Yotsumoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"T.","family":"Hagiwara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"K.","family":"Amano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"E.","family":"Kinai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM199607253350403","article-title":"Seroconversion to antibodies against Kaposi\u2019s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-related latent nuclear antigens before the development of Kaposi\u2019s sarcoma","volume":"335","author":"Gao","year":"1996","journal-title":"N.Engl. 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