Kaposi's syndrome following transplantation

Kaposi's sarcoma has particularly been described after renal transplantation. More recently, a number of cases have been reported after hepatic or cardiac transplantation. The fostering factors are the same as for the other Kaposi's sarcomas, while the HIV1 or HIV2 serology is always negative. Renal transplantation may increase the natural risk of Kaposi's sarcoma by a factor of 4 to 500. The immunodepressive treatment must be reduced in case of purely cutaneous Kaposi and interrupted in case of visceral involvement. Death generally occurs as a consequence of infections. Kaposi's sarcoma after heart transplantation has a poorer prognosis, with fatal evolution in the four cases observed out of the 967 cardiac transplantations performed in the Ile-de-France region from 1968 to 1990; the cause of death most often is graft rejection or an infection.