Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a connective tissue cancer caused by human herpes virus 8 - now called Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). The malignant lesion is characterised by neoplastic cells and abnormally growing blood vessels. KS is named after the Hungarian dermatologist, Moritz Kaposi who discovered it in 1872. The viral gene sequence was only determined in 1995-1996. KS is different to other neoplasms by virtue of the fact that lesions may begin in more than one place at the same time.1 There are two other malignancies associated with KSHV - primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman's disease, which will not be discussed here.2
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/doctor/oncology/kaposis-sarcoma