Endemic (African) Kaposi's sarcoma presenting as a plantar tumour

We present a case of the aggressive variant of African endemic Kaposi's Sar coma (AKS) which presented as a large fungating and ulcerated plantar mass. Our patient responded extremely well to chemotherapy with no recurrence fo r 9 months after treatment completion. AKS is one of the most common cutane ous neoplasms in black Africans and although rare in Europe, it may be seen more frequently in the future because of the ease of international travel, The existing classification of KS into five different types (classic, Afri can-endemic, iatrogenically immunocompromised patients, epidemic HIV-relate d and Mediterranean-endemic) cannot address fully the many anomalies descri bed in the disease. The detection of a new herpes simplex-like viral DNA se quence (HHV-8) in different types of KS helps to explain some of the enigma described in this disease.