Thus, while most patients present with skin disease, KS involvement of lymph nodes or the gastrointestinal tract may occasionally precede the appearance of the cutaneous lesions. Eventually, almost all patients with epidemic KS develop disseminated disease. Progression often proceeds in an orderly fashion from a few localized or widespread mucocutaneous lesions to more numerous and generalized skin disease with lymph node, gastrointestinal tract disease, and other organ involvement. There have been several reports documenting KS in homosexual men who persistently have no evidence of HIV infection. These patients have an indolent and cutaneous form of the disease, with new lesions appearing every few years.
Lesions occur most commonly on the extremities and genitalia but can occur anywhere on the skin.
Friedman-Kien AE, Saltzman BR, Cao Y, et al. Kaposi's sarcoma and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Chang Y, Cesarman E, Pessin MS, et al. Detection of herpesvirus-like DNA sequences in Kaposi's sarcoma in patients with and those without HIV infection. Su IJ, Hsu YS, Chang YC, et al.