Localized Kaposi's sarcoma in a patient with pemphigus vulgaris

J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2006 Jan;20(1):79-83. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2005.01348.x.

Abstract

We report the case of a patient with a 13-year history of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) treated with immunosuppressive agents, prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil who had developed lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) on a sole plaque of PV that had been previously treated with intralesional injections of steroids. The lesions were surgically removed and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrated human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) DNA. There were neither recurrences nor later dissemination of KS following gradual decrease of the immunosuppressive therapy. We suggest that the treatment with intralesional steroids may have influenced the local reactivation of a latent infection of the virus, determining the appearance of this localized KS.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Humans
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / adverse effects
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Mycophenolic Acid / adverse effects
  • Mycophenolic Acid / analogs & derivatives
  • Mycophenolic Acid / therapeutic use
  • Pemphigus / drug therapy*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Prednisone / adverse effects
  • Prednisone / therapeutic use
  • Sarcoma, Kaposi / chemically induced*
  • Sarcoma, Kaposi / virology

Substances

  • Immunosuppressive Agents
  • Mycophenolic Acid
  • Prednisone