Kaposi's sarcoma on a lymphedematous arm after mastectomy

Two patients with Kaposi's sarcoma developing in an area of lymphedematous arm postmastectomy are reported. The Kaposi's sarcoma occurred after latent periods of 26 and 7 years following radical and modified-radical mastectomy, respectively, in the edematous tissue of the ipsilateral arm. The cutaneous nodules were purple in color and ranged in size from a few millimeters to > 1 cm in diameter. The results of routine laboratory tests were all within normal limits. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody and cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigen, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), were negative.