Pre-Kaposi's sarcoma: an expansion of the spectrum of Kaposi's sarcoma lesions

We report on a lymphoedematous form of classic Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in which characteristic purplish lesions were surrounded by atypical oedematous, flesh-coloured papules. Histological examination of these papular lesions revealed a proliferation of grouped, rather thick-walled capillaries with inflammatory infiltrates. Hot-start PCR amplification with KS 330-233 primer sequences demonstrated the presence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) sequences. In addition, cells isolated from these oedematous papules showed morphological and immunohistochemical features similar to those reported for KS-derived spindle cells. As a whole, these results suggest that these oedematous papular lesions represent pre-KS lesions and may expand the clinico-pathological spectrum of KS. The role of oedema in their induction is discussed.

Long-term disease-free survival after liver transplantation for alveolar echinococcosis

Alveolar echinococcosis of the liver is an uncommon and fatal disease resulting from hepatic infection by Echinococcus multilocularis. Liver transplantation has been proposed for unresectable cases with chronic complications, but up to now, no long-term follow-up has been reported. We report the case of a 29-year-old female who is disease-free more than six years after liver transplantation for a recurrent alveolar echinococcosis of the liver, confirming the place for liver transplantation in this disorder.