Kaposi's sarcoma after lung transplantation in a Sephardic Jewish woman

One of the four types of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), KS after organ transplantat ion under immunosuppression, is a well-known entity and has been abundantly described in renal, heart and liver recipients. We report the second case of cutaneous KS after lung transplantation, under regular immunosuppression , in a Sephardic Jewish woman. This case, when added to the other 10 cases of posttransplantation KS reported from Israel, all being Sephardic Jews, i ndicates that in Israel, Sephardic Jews are at higher risk than Ashkenazi J ews to develop post-transplantation KS. This observation should be added to the well-known increased risk of Ashkenazi Jews to develop classic KS. Mor eover, in Israel Ashkenazi Jews develop classic KS at higher rates than Sep hardic Jews. This apparent discrepancy in the ethnic distribution between S ephardic and Ashkenazi Jews in classic versus posttransplantation KS may sh ed light on the pathogenesis of KS in general. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.