Biomedical Frontiers: Winter 1995, Vol.2, No.2
Herpesvirus Linked to Kaposi's Sarcoma
What is Kaposi's Sarcoma?

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a common disease seen in AIDS patients, appearing in 15-20 percent of all cases. It began showing up in homosexual men in 1981. Before that time, it was rarely seen in the United States and was confined to the elderly or organ transplant patients who received immunosuppressant drugs. The sarcoma often disappeared in the transplant patients when the immune system returned to normal after immunosuppressant drugs were stopped. In AIDS patients, though, the impaired immune system cannot fight KS. Not all AIDS patients are at similar risk for KS. Homosexual and bisexual men with AIDS are 20 times more likely than hemophiliacs with AIDS to develop KS.

Because KS is a tumor of vascular origin, red or purplish sores resembling bruises on the skin or mucous membranes are the first manifestations of KS. They are often initially on the face and in the mouth. The cancer also can occur in a disseminated fashion involving internal organs. It is diagnosed through a biopsy, usually from one of the skin lesions. Current treatment involves either chemotherapy or radiation, but doctors often must weigh whether these treatments do more harm than good in an immunocompromised patient. There have been no major outbreaks of KS outside of AIDS patients and there is no evidence that KS is casually transmitted.