Neurological complications of Kaposi's sarcomat

Abstract

We analyzed the neurological complications in 25 patients with Kaposi's sarcoma, 5 encountered at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and 20 culled from the literature. Patients with all clinical forms of Kaposi's sarcoma [14 classical cases, 2 African cases, 5 cases associated with immunosuppressive therapy and 4 cases associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)] suffered neurological dysfunction which included neoplastic involvement of the nervous system (Kaposi's sarcoma or another primary), autoimmune disorders and opportunistic infections. Neoplastic involvement was recorded most frequently in patients with classical and African Kaposi's sarcoma and was favored in a setting of extensive tumor dissemination. Opportunistic infections (cryptococcal meningitis and cerebral toxoplasmosis) were observed in all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma but were most frequent in AIDS cases and correlated with the degree of immune dysfunction. Our data suggest that more diverse opportunistic central nervous system infections, neurological disorders of an autoimmune nature, and neoplastic involvement of the nervous system are to be anticipated in AIDS.

Cerebrospinal fluid cytology: Selected issues

“…90 It rarely involves the CNS. 91,92 The diagnosis of Kaposi's sarcoma cannot be made from lumbar puncture, but cellular FNA or minitissue biopsy may yield diagnostic material. Selected carcinomas, including squamous carcinomas of the perineum (possibly HPV related), have also been reported with increased frequency in immunocompromised patients.…”