Cytomegalovirus (CMV) titers among acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with and without a history of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS).

The relationship between a history of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and serum titers to cytomegalovirus (CMV) among homosexual patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was studied. Individuals with a history of AIDS and biopsy-proven or clinically confirmed KS were identified and compared with AIDS patients who did not have a history of KS. By demographic parameters and level of immunosuppression, the two groups were similar. Titers to CMV among the 53 AIDS patients (using an indirect fluorescent antibody [IFA] system) demonstrated a median titer for the first group of 1:512 and 1:2048 for the second. The two groups, however, did not differ in a matched study using a McNemar's test for correlated proportions. Wilcoxon ranked sum test performed on the data also demonstrated that the two groups did not differ with respect to the distribution of CMV titers. Serologic data failed to demonstrate a role for CMV infection in the pathogenesis of KS.