Classical disseminated Kaposi's sarcoma in HIV-negative patients; an unusually indolent subtype

Kaposi's sarcoma is a rare neoplasm of characteristic chronicity. The classical form which occurs most often in elderly men of Eastern European origin, comprises both an indolent, cutaneous type marked by spontaneous regression with prolonged survival, and a rarer, disseminated variant is more fulminant. Seven elderly Jewish patients with classical, disseminated, visceral Kaposi's sarcoma were studied; they were neither homosexual nor drug-abusers. All immunologic parameters were normal and serum tests for HIV antibodies, CMV, and EBV were negative. Five of these patients were treated and four responded well, including two complete remissions. The prolonged survival of these patients (82% at 5 years) suggests the existence of an indolent subtype or forme fruste of the usually aggressive form of classical Kaposi's sarcoma.