HISTOGENESIS OF KAPOSI'S SARCOMA

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

HISTOGENESIS OF KAPOSI'S SARCOMA

Kaposi's Sarcoma: Pathophysiology and Clinical Management. Ziegler JL, Dorfman RF, eds. New York, Marcel Dekker, p. 71-112, 1988.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/89650411
Dorfman RF; Wood GS; Beckstead JH; Dept. of Pathology, Stanford Univ. Medical Center, Stanford, CA

Abstract: Theories of the histogenesis of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) are discussed based on morphologic observations at the light microscopic and electron microscopic levels, enzyme histochemical studies, immunohistochemical studies, and experimental methods (tissue culture and reproduction of the disease in animal systems). The varied histopathology of Kaposi's sarcoma has engendered controversy concerning its histogenesis and neoplastic nature. Some investigators have proposed that it is a sarcoma derived from primitive mesenchymal cells; however, others consider this lesion a benign proliferative disorder. An additional alternative to consider is the concept of KS as a multiclonal tumor analogous to the virus-induced lymphomas described in immunosuppressed heart-transplant recipients. The weight of the evidence seems to favor a lymphatic endothelium origin for the neoplastic spindle cell of KS. This evidence includes (1) light microscopic and morbid anatomic observations, supported by the distribution of lesions in the skin, submucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, and lymph nodes (often without skin lesions); (2) the absence of lesions in organs devoid of lymphatics (ie, the brain and eyeball); and (3) the results of electron microscopic, enzyme histochemical, and immunohistochemical studies performed by the authors and others. Reactive elements, such as fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, and histiocytes, also may be involved in the proliferative process. (92 Refs)

Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/COMPLICATIONS/PATHOLOGY Antigens/ANALYSIS Biopsy Endothelium, Vascular/PATHOLOGY Enzymes/ANALYSIS Factor VIII/ANALYSIS/*IMMUNOLOGY Human Immunohistochemistry Lymph Nodes/PATHOLOGY Lymphatic Metastasis Microscopy, Electron Sarcoma, Kaposi's/*PATHOLOGY Skin/PATHOLOGY Skin Neoplasms/*PATHOLOGY Tumor Cells, Cultured/PATHOLOGY MONOGRAPH REVIEW REVIEW, TUTORIAL

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