Disseminated visceral Kaposi´s sarcoma in a pediatric bilateral lung transplant recipient

Abstract

Cancer is a major adverse outcome of solid organ transplantation, and risks are especially high for malignancies caused by viral infections. HHV-8 is the etiologic agent of Kaposi´s sarcoma (KS). We report a case of visceral KS occurring in a 15-year-old patient after lung transplantation. The evolution was dramatically fast and interestingly, KS lesions were diffusely observed, but not in the skin. The autopsy showed the presence of numerous tumoral lesions in many organs. Microscopically, they all had very similar features, regardless of the organ affected. KS presented without cutaneous involvement. The girl was not tested for HHV-8 prior to transplantation as it was not part of our protocol. The donor was negative. The aim of the report is to alert other teams, especially those working in pediatrics, about this rare but potential complication in the setting of solid organ transplantation.