Keloidal Kaposi's sarcoma: report of three patients

Abstract

Kaposi's sarcoma is a unique neoplasm which has emerged as an important element of AIDS in homosexuals but not in others at high risk for AIDS. The biology of this important tumor may be related to cytokines secreted by HIV-infected cells and/or by Kaposi's sarcoma cells themselves. We report 3 patients with multiple keloid-like tumors. These lesions proved to be Kaposi's sarcoma histologically, yet with a unique keloidal component. This variant has not been described previously. It is possible that cytokines that stimulate Kaposi's sarcoma cell growth may also stimulate proliferation of local fibroblasts to produce this variant.