Kaposi's sarcoma
Hayasaka, K.; Ishihara, K.
Gan to Kagaku Ryoho. Cancer and ChemoTherapy 12(9): 1749-1754
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0385-0684 PMID: 3839998 Document Number: 266574
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a very rare disease in Japan. The description by Moritz kaposi in 1872 of a "multiple idiopathic pigment sarcoma of the skin" stressed the multifocal lesions of the disease and its vascular nature, and it was renamed multiple idiopathic hemorrhagic sarcoma." For many years, the traditional form of KS was seen by most dermatologists and pathologists. During the 1970s, following the initiation of immunosuppression therapy for kidney transplantation, on autoimmune disease, KS was observed to occur in up to 5% of patients undergoing this procedure. In 1981, reports began to appear of kaposi's sarcoma in young immunocompromised homosexual men. Many patients bad lymphadenopathy and/or unusual opportunistic infections. The clinical manifestations of traditional KS were and are well established. The initial lesions usually involve the lower extremities, beginning as macules and patches and extending to plaques and modules. The color is thought to be somewhat distinctive, especially in the later stages, with hues of red or red-brown with a bluish purple tone. Eventually, non-pitting edema of the legs is seen, with widely scattered involvement of cutaneous lymph nodes and eventually, internal organs. The disease is considered to be multifocal both in the traditional and AIDS-associated (new KS) forms. The clinical course of the disease is variable. The differential diagnosis of KS has become a major problem in histopathology. Factor-VIII-related antigen may be demonstrated in vascular endothelium using immunoperoxidase staining methods and may be useful, as a practical approach to skin biopsy in high-risk patients, awareness of the differential diagnoses is of primary importance. An abnormal helper: suppressor ratio of T lymphocytes is found in most of the immunocompromised groups, KS patients are treated by radiation and/or chemotherapy. Some drugs are well-suited for the long-term treatment of KS.