Abstract
Background: Pemphigus vulgaris is the most common form of autoimmune vesiculobullous skin disease. Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) has a well-known association with Kaposi's sarcoma. Considering the reports about the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma in patients with pemphigus and bolus pemphigoid without evidence of HIV infection, this study was designed to investigate the presence of HHV-8 in patients with pemphigus.
Methods: In this cross-sectional and descriptive-analytic study, 27 patients with newly diagnosed pemphigus vulgaris were selected. The control group included 27 patients with benign non- vesiculobullous skin lesions. IHC (Immunohistochemistry) staining was performed to detect HHV-8 in tissue samples taken from skin lesions or mucosal lesions in both groups.
Results: IHC showed HHV-8 in 12 patients in case group with pemphigus vulgaris (44.4%) and 9 patients in control group (33.3%) (P=0.402).
Conclusion: Although HHV-8 prevalence was higher in Pemphigus vulgaris patients, this difference was not statistically significant, and there is unlikely to be a causal relationship between HHV-8 and Pemphigus.