Subject: Genital Wart Virus May Be Cause of Kaposi's Sarcoma
Date: Published: 2/28/92 (30 lines)
Source: Wall Street Journal. Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc.

    Technology:
    Genital Wart Virus May Be
    Cause of Kaposi's Sarcoma

    LONDON (Reuter) -- A virus that causes genital warts may
 be a primary cause of Kaposi's sarcoma, the most common
 cancer affecting patients with AIDS, researchers said
 yesterday.
    Kaposi's sarcoma is ordinarily a very rare skin cancer but
 10 years ago its incidence soared in patients with acquired
 immune deficiency syndrome.
    Doctors found the cancer is 10 times more common in men
 with AIDS than in those without AIDS, suggesting some other
 infectious agent may be responsible for the disease.
    A team of U. S. doctors reported in two articles in the
 Lancet medical journal that they found cell fragments of the
 human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes genital warts, in
 the Kaposi's tumor tissue taken from patients both with and
 without AIDS.  
    The finding suggests the HPV virus may be the cause of
 Kaposi's sarcoma, presenting doctors with a new direction for
 trying to treat or prevent the cancer, the researchers said.

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