Published online Jun 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i18.4765
Peer-review started: December 22, 2020
First decision: March 11, 2021
Revised: March 22, 2021
Accepted: April 23, 2021
Article in press: April 23, 2021
Published online: June 26, 2021
Processing time: 171 Days and 0.8 Hours
Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is a malignancy that usually affects the skin of the lower extremities, and may involve internal organs. It originates from the vascular endothelium. It is well known that the development of KS is associated with human herpes virus 8 (i.e. HHV8) infections. Sporadic KS cases have mainly been found in Africa. Isolated splenic KS in Asia has rarely been reported. We present here a case of KS primarily involving the spleen in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative Chinese patient.
A 50-year-old male patient was admitted to hospital due to abdominal distension and discomfort, reduced food intake and weight loss. Medical examination revealed that the patient had moderate anemia, a low platelet count, slight fatty liver and a huge mass in the spleen. Spleen lymphoma was considered. An anti-HIV test was negative. The whole spleen was surgically excised. The final pathological diagnosis was nodular stage spleen KS, and the patient underwent total splenectomy. He recovered well and was discharged from hospital 12 d after surgery. Two weeks later, the patient developed liver metastasis and died within 1 mo after surgery.
KS is difficult to diagnose and pathological examination is necessary. KS has a poor prognosis and should be diagnosed and treated early to improve survival.
Core Tip: This case describes a rare Splenic Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) in a human immunodeficiency virus-negative patient. The preoperative diagnosis was lymphoma, but the postoperative pathological diagnosis was KS. The operation and lack of proper postoperative treatments for KS may promote liver metastasis and death, as in this case. Improving the overall understanding of KS is paramount. Therefore, we report this case to provide KS experiences and lessons for future clinical works.