Oral Kaposi's sarcoma: A clinicopathologic study of 23 homosexual and bisexual men from the New York metropolitan area

A total of 3970 cases of Kaposis's sarcoma (KS) associated with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control by the end of 1986. The prevalence of oral KS in patients with KS of the skin varies, reaching a maximum of 44% in one published study. We present a retrospective clinicopathologic analysis of 23 previously unreported cases of oral KS in male homosexual and bisexual patients from the New York metropolitan area. Our data reveal that 21 of the patients had KS confined to the oral cavity and that, in 16 cases, the oral KS was the first presenting sign of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Sixteen of the 23 patients had solitary oral lesions. Nineteen of the tumors showed prominent endothelium-lined capillaries resembling lymphatics, 16 exhibited a prominent spindle cell component, and 17 demonstrated areas of fibrosis. Of the 13 patients for whom there was adequate follow-up information, five were dead within 6 to 15 months. All five deaths were due to Pneumocystis pneumonia.