Health Dictionary Find a Doctor

Kaposi's sarcoma differential diagnosis


Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Farima Kahe M.D. [2] Haytham Allaham, M.D. [3] Amandeep Singh M.D.[4] Huda A. Karman, M.D.

Overview

Overview

Kaposi’s sarcoma must be differentiated from other diseases that cause similar cutaneous, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal involvement, such as bacillary angiomatosis, AIDS-related lymphoma, and seborrheic keratosis.

Differentiating Kaposi’s Sarcoma from other Diseases

Differentiating Kaposi’s Sarcoma from other Diseases

Diseases Etiology Congenital Acquired Demography Clinical manifestations Lab findings Gold standard diagnosis Associated findings
Symptoms Signs CBC LFT ESR/CRP Histopathology
Appearance Fever Bleeding BP Hepatosplenomegaly Lymphadenopathy Other WBC Hb Plt
Bacillary angiomatosis [4] – + Any age, usually between 20 -50 years Solitary or multiple red, purple, flesh-colored, or colorless papules Β± Β± Nl – – Nl Nl Nl Nl Nl Clinical manifestation
Arteriovenous malformation [5] + – Any age Nl – + Nl – – Nl Nl Nl Nl Nl NA Imaging
Acroangiodermatitis[6] – – Any age, more in males Purplish-blue to brown papules and plaques – – Nl – –
  • Paralysed legs
Nl Nl Nl Nl Nl Clinical manifesttations
Angiosarcoma [7] – – Adults, more in males Enlarging bruise, a blue-black nodule, or an unhealed ulceration – – Nl – – – Nl ↓ ↓ Nl Nl Biopsy NA
Diseases Etiology Congenital Acquired Demography Appearance Fever Bleeding BP Hepatosplenomegaly Lymphadenopathy Other WBC Hb Plt LFT ESR/CRP Histopathology Gold standard diagnosis Associated findings
Masson’s hemangioma [8] – – Rare
  • Normal
– – Nl – – – Nl Nl Nl Nl Nl Biopsy
Seborrheic keratosis [9] + – Any age – – Nl – – – Nl Nl Nl Nl Nl
  • Papillomatous epithelial proliferation containing horn cysts
Clinical manifestations
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) [10] – – More common in female, typically in the 20 to 30 years Β± – ↑ Β± Β± ↑ ↓ ↓ Nl Nl Clinical manifestations
Pyogenic granuloma [11]
  • Trauma
  • Hormonal influences
  • Viruses
  • Cytogenetic clonal deletion abnormalities
+ + Any age, usually in 20-30 years – + Nl – – – Nl Nl Nl Nl Nl Clinical manifestation NA
Benign lymphangioendothelioma [12] – + Any ages, median age is 50 years – – Nl – – – Nl Nl Nl Nl Nl
  • Thin-walled endothelial-lined spaces that are interspersed between strands of collagen
Biopsy NA
Cavernous hemangioma [13] – – Usually in third to fifth decades of life.
  • Painless, slowly progressive protrusion or bulging of their globe
– – Nl – – – Nl Nl Nl Nl Nl
  • Engorged vascular channels, which are tightly knit and separated by fibrous septae
Clinical manidestation
Diseases Etiology Congenital Acquired Demography Appearance Fever Bleeding BP Hepatosplenomegaly Lymphadenopathy Other WBC Hb Plt LFT ESR/CRP Histopathology Gold standard diagnosis Associated findings

References

References

  1. ↑ Kaposi’s Sarcoma. Radiopaedia (2015) http://radiopaedia.org/articles/kaposi-sarcoma Accessed on January, 19 2016
  2. ↑ Libre Pathology. Kaposi’s sarcoma (2015) http://librepathology.org/wiki/index.php/File:Kaposi_sarcoma_low_intermed_mag.jpg Accessed on January, 19 2016
  3. ↑ Kaposi’s Sarcoma. PathologyOutlines (2015) http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/skintumornonmelanocytickaposisarcoma.html Accessed on January, 19 2015
  4. ↑ Tappero JW, Perkins BA, Wenger JD, Berger TG (July 1995). “Cutaneous manifestations of opportunistic infections in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus”. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 8 (3): 440–50. PMCΒ 174635. PMIDΒ 7553576.
  5. ↑ Whitehead KJ, Smith MC, Li DY (February 2013). “Arteriovenous malformations and other vascular malformation syndromes”. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 3 (2): a006635. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a006635. PMCΒ 3552339. PMIDΒ 23125071.
  6. ↑ LugoviΔ‡ L, PusiΔ‡ J, Situm M, Buljan M, Bulat V, SebetiΔ‡ K, Soldo-BeliΔ‡ A (2007). “Acroangiodermatitis (pseudo-Kaposi sarcoma): three case reports”. Acta Dermatovenerol Croat. 15 (3): 152–7. PMIDΒ 17868541.
  7. ↑ Barttelbort SW, Stahl R, Ariyan S (July 1989). “Cutaneous angiosarcoma of the face and scalp”. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 84 (1): 55–9. PMIDΒ 2734404.
  8. ↑ Park KK, Won YS, Yang JY, Choi CS, Han KY (July 2012). “Intravascular Papillary Endothelial Hyperplasia (Masson tumor) of the SkullΒ : Case Report and Literature Review”. J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 52 (1): 52–4. doi:10.3340/jkns.2012.52.1.52. PMCΒ 3440504. PMIDΒ 22993679.
  9. ↑ Noiles K, Vender R (2008). “Are all seborrheic keratoses benign? Review of the typical lesion and its variants”. J Cutan Med Surg. 12 (5): 203–10. doi:10.2310/7750.2008.07096. PMIDΒ 18845088.
  10. ↑ Uva L, Miguel D, Pinheiro C, Freitas JP, Marques Gomes M, Filipe P (2012). “Cutaneous manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus”. Autoimmune Dis. 2012: 834291. doi:10.1155/2012/834291. PMCΒ 3410306. PMIDΒ 22888407.
  11. ↑ Kamal R, Dahiya P, Puri A (January 2012). “Oral pyogenic granuloma: Various concepts of etiopathogenesis”. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 16 (1): 79–82. doi:10.4103/0973-029X.92978. PMCΒ 3303528. PMIDΒ 22434943.
  12. ↑ Guillou L, Fletcher CD (August 2000). “Benign lymphangioendothelioma (acquired progressive lymphangioma): a lesion not to be confused with well-differentiated angiosarcoma and patch stage Kaposi’s sarcoma: clinicopathologic analysis of a series”. Am. J. Surg. Pathol. 24 (8): 1047–57. PMIDΒ 10935645.
  13. ↑ Goldberg RE, Pheasant TR, Shields JA (December 1979). “Cavernous hemangioma of the retina. A four-generation pedigree with neurocutaneous manifestations and an example of bilateral retinal involvement”. Arch. Ophthalmol. 97 (12): 2321–4. PMIDΒ 229814.

Template:WH Template:WS

Looking for the patient version?

Back to the patient-friendly article

Β© 2026 MyEClinic – IFTM Institut fΓΌr Telematik in der Medizin GmbH