Kaposi's sarcoma following long-term immunosuppressive therapy: clinical, histologic, and ultrastructural study

Multifocal Kaposi's sarcoma in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia treated with busulfan, a cytostatic and suppressive drug, is reviewed. After five years of treatment, during which temporary remissions occurred, the patient experienced a relapse of leukemia and a considerable immune deficiency. This was expressed by a decrease in the ratio of CD4/CD8 lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. The relation of Kaposi's sarcoma with leukemia, as well as with the state of immunity in this case, does not evoke any doubts. Verification of oncologic treatment brought about a remission of leukemia, an improvement in the patient's immune state, as well as an inhibition of new foci of the Kaposi's sarcoma in the skin in the course of a few months of follow-up evaluation.