School of Medicine Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2018
Abstract
The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) is located on U.S.-Mexican border with a population that is 90% Hispanic[1]. Comprised of Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr and Willacy counties, this region has the highest poverty rate and one of the highest incidences of Type 2 diabetes in the United States[2],[3],[4]. Previous studies demonstrated a high prevalence of Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV8) in the LRGV[5],[6],[7]. HHV8 infection has been causally linked to Kaposi Sarcoma (KS)[8]. Here, we retrospectively examine the incidence of KS in the LRGV in a set of HIV-negative Hispanic patients. Strikingly, the incidence of KS was higher in LRGV women compared to the Texas state average (nearly four-fold higher in McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr Metro Statistical Area). This unique profile aligns with the increased HHV8 prevalence in the LRGV, suggesting that HHV8 contributes to a high incidence of HIV-negative KS on the U.S.–Mexican border in Texas.
Recommended Citation
Innis-Whitehouse, W., Wang, X., Restrepo, N., Salas, C., Moreno, K., Restrepo, A., & Keniry, M. (2018). Kaposi sarcoma incidence in females is nearly four-fold higher in the Lower Rio Grande Valley compared to the Texas average. Cancer treatment and research communications, 16, 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctarc.2018.06.003
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Publication Title
Cancer treatment and research communications
DOI
10.1016/j.ctarc.2018.06.003
Academic Level
faculty
Comments
Original published version available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctarc.2018.06.003