Case report
A rare case of iatrogenic gingival Kaposi’s sarcoma

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Abstract

Kaposi’s sarcoma is an angioproliferative tumour rarely found in the oral cavity. We present the 3rd case of iatrogenic gingival Kaposi’s sarcoma reported in the English-language literature which developed in a young patient 5 years after a renal transplant and discuss their histological features and differential diagnosis.

Introduction

Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is a slow-growing endothelial cell tumour that has a higher incidence in transplant patients. Oral mucosal lesions are very rare and may present a diagnostic challenge. To the best of our knowledge, only two cases of gingival KS in renal transplant patients have been reported in the English-language literature (Siegal et al., 1990, Bowie and Bach, 1999). We present a new case of iatrogenic gingival KS which developed in a young patient 5 years after a renal transplant and discuss the histological features and differential diagnosis.

Section snippets

Case report

A 21-year-old woman was referred to an oral maxillofacial surgeon for evaluation of a slow-growing mass over the lingual aspect of the right posterior region of the mandible. The patient had noticed the lesion 4 months earlier. There had been no episodes of infection, pain or suppuration. There had been problems with oral hygiene and bleeding in the region. Physical examination revealed a blue-to-purplish, firm, nodular, ulcerated lesion on lingual attached gingiva in the right mandibular

Discussion

KS is a mesenchymal angioproliferative neoplasm that can affect the skin, mucosa, and internal organs. The lesion is 400–500 times more common among transplant patients than among the general population, afflicting 1 out of 200 transplant patients in the United States (Harwood et al., 1979). In this group of patients, immunosuppressive therapy plays a major role in the development of the lesion (Mitxelena et al., 2003) that is known as iatrogenic KS (Trattner et al., 1993).

Iatrogenic KS

Conclusion

Gingival KS can be easily confused with benign gingival lesions such as reactive or inflammatory lesions. The medical history, the careful histological examination and the use of PCR for the presence of HHV-8 are fundamental to the diagnostis.

Conflict of interest

None.

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