At baseline, the ACTG stage distribution (P=0.46 for stage T, P=0.7 for stage S and P=0.47 for stage I), CD4 cell counts (median 55 mm−3 for non-PI group vs 76 mm−3 for PI group), and HIV plasma viral load (median 204 000 copies ml−1 for non-PI group vs 275 000 copies ml−1 for PI group) were not statistically different between the two groups (P=0.2 and 0.1 for CD4 cell counts and viral load, respectively) and were not significantly related to KS remission at 6 months. The gene discussed is CD4; the disease is Kaposi's sarcoma.