Kaposi sarcoma and quinine: a potentially overlooked triggering factor in millions of Africans

Kaposi sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus, also known as human herpesvirus 8, is necessary but not sufficient for the development of KS. Lytic reactivation of human herpesvirus 8 may be important in KS pathogenesis. KS and its causative agent, KS-associated herpesvirus, have distinctive largely unexplained geographic distributions. We note the recent "oncoweed" hypothesis of biologic plants in the environment accounting for this reactivation. We believe that quinine and its derivatives might better explain the epidemiology of KS than oncoweeds. Indeed, we propose an "oncodrug" hypothesis, specifically with regard to quinine and its derivatives, a linkage first advanced by one of us (V. R.) and associates in 1984.