Kaposi’s sarcoma

December 2006     View PDF     En español
Reprinted from dermnetnz.org, New Zealand;
author, Jane Morgan MD CHB MRCP FACSHP

Kaposi sarcoma is a cancer of blood vessels that was considered very rare before the start of the AIDS pandemic. It is now the most frequent cancer to develop in people with AIDS, affecting about 20% overall.

• In the United States, Kaposi sarcoma is most common amongst HIV-positive men who have sex with men. It occurs less frequently in intravenous drug users and is rare in women, haemophiliacs or their sexual partners.
• In some parts of Africa, Kaposi sarcoma is more common in HIV positive women.
• A milder form of non-HIV associated Kaposi sarcoma may occur in elderly men (and sometimes women) of Mediterranean and Middle European descent and in men in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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