Spontaneous remission of Kaposi's sarcoma in an HTLV-III-negative homosexual man

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in homosexual men has been linked to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). We describe a 51-year-old homosexual man who developed extremity KS while taking corticosteroids. The KS resolved when the steroids were withdrawn. He did not have classically defined AIDS: no evidence of HTLV-III infection was found after serial ELISA and "western blot" analysis of the patient's serum nor after co-cultivation of his peripheral blood lymphocytes. This clinical observation is consistent with the hypothesis that AIDS and KS may have different etiologic agents. Corticosteroids should be used with caution in patients at risk for KS (including homosexual men) and may be complicated by the development of KS without HTLV-III-induced immunosuppression.