[Kaposi's sarcoma in Tunisia. Review of 91 cases]

The sickness of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) knows, currently, a renewal of interest since the emergence of 2 new forms: the iatrogenic KS and the epidemic KS. Through a retrospective study on 21 years (1978 to 1998) we have tried to specify the epidemiologic and clinical characters of KS in Tunisia. Our study interests 91 patients: 85 cases of classic KS (94%), 4 cases of iatrogenic KS and 2 cases of epidemic KS. The incidence of iatrogenic KS in renal transplant recipients in our study is 1.9%. A male predominance is found in the 3 forms. The mean age of beginning was 60 years in classic KS and more lower in the 2 other forms (31 years in iatrogenic KS and 46 years in epidemic KS). A predominance of lesions in the lower limbs was found in the 3 forms. The visceral locations was more frequent in iatrogenic KS (3 cases) while it has been found in only 1 case of classic KS. In Tunisia, the classic KS is the most frequent form. In iatrogenic and epidemic KS, visceral lésions are frequent and must be researched systematically.