What is it about?
Kaposi's sarcoma is a vascular tumour common in people with HIV, usually affecting the skin or internal organs. Spread to the bones, and in particular to the vertebrae, is rare. We describe a 44-year-old man with HIV, previously treated for a single skin lesion of Kaposi's sarcoma, who developed severe, worsening low back pain three years later. Although his CD4 count was reasonably good, investigations revealed vertebral involvement by Kaposi's sarcoma with a pathological fracture, without other organ involvement.
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Why is it important?
This case shows that Kaposi's sarcoma can spread to the spine even years after an apparently limited skin lesion and in patients with a relatively preserved immune system. Clinicians should consider it in people with HIV who present with new back pain or vertebral lesions.
Perspectives
Back pain is one of the most common complaints in medicine, and it is easy to underestimate. This patient taught us to keep a broad differential diagnosis, especially in people living with HIV.
Professor Stefano Di Bella
Universita degli Studi di Trieste
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Vertebral Lesions from AIDS-Related Kaposi's Sarcoma, Current HIV Research, June 2011, Bentham Science Publishers,
DOI: 10.2174/157016211796320342.
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