Aggressive Kaposi's sarcoma and campylobacter bacteremia in a female with transfusion associated AIDS

The vast majority of patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) of the epidemic, endemic or sporadic variety are men. Although 35 percent of men with AIDS will develop KS, only three percent of women will develop this malignancy. To date, a single case report of transfusion associated KS in an HIV-infected female has been described in the medical literature. We report a second case. A 54-year-old HIV-infected female without other identifiable risk factors for AIDS developed disseminated KS six years after a blood transfusion. Her illness was marked by rapidly proliferating tumors not responsive to a single course of chemotherapy. Another unusual aspect of this case is that, in conjunction with weight loss and diarrhea, Campylobactercinaedi was recovered from her blood. This enteric pathogen has previously been described exclusively in homosexual men. Autopsy studies showed KS tumors involving all major visceral organs. This case report demonstrates that in HIV-infected females KS may follow an aggressive course similar to that seen occasionally in male KS patients with profound immunosuppression.