Isolated Kaposi sarcoma of the upper aerodigestive tract in immunocompetent individuals, an underrecognized entity with favorable prognosis

Ear Nose Throat J. 2022 Sep 15:1455613221128112. doi: 10.1177/01455613221128112. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a rare vascular neoplasm that most commonly arises in the setting of immunosuppression, in areas with high prevalence of Human Herpesvirus-8 infection, and when both situations coexist. Most cases affect the skin, isolated involvement of the upper respiratory tract without skin involvement is extremely rare with only a few cases reported in the literature. We present a case of isolated nasopharyngeal KS in an immunocompetent patient who achieved remission after multimodality therapy. Recent advances in KS-therapy are discussed.

Keywords: Kaposi sarcoma; cancer treatment protocols; immunocompetent; nasopharynx.