Human herpes-virus 8 seropositive patient with skin and graft Kaposi's sarcoma after lung transplantation

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) has been reported after solid organ transplantation m ostly in recipients of renal, liver, heart, and bone allografts. We describ e the first case of a patient with lung transplantation who developed KS of the skin, but also of the lung graft. The tumors were localized to places of previous trauma, implying the involvement of a Koebner phenomenon. Moreo ver, a polymerase chain reaction assay revealed the presence of DNA sequenc es of herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) on tissue of the cutaneous KS. Serological test s showed HHV-8 seronegativity of the graft donor and HHV-8 seropositivity o f the patient before lung transplantation suggesting that the latter was al ready infected before the surgery and that immunosuppression resulted in th e development of KS. This case report raises the question of the prevalence of HHV-8 in candidates for transplantation and organ donors, and of the va lue of an antiviral prophylaxis to lower the risk of KS.