Iatrogenic Kaposi’s sarcoma in a patient with bullous pemphigoid treated with an oral corticosteroid

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Résumé

Kaposi’s sarcoma is a multifocal angiogenic tumor disease whose principal causal agent is human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8). Herein, we report a rare case of iatrogenic Kaposi’s sarcoma developing during oral corticotherapy. A 76-year-old, HIV-negative male presented with papulous, angiomatous lesions on the trunk and limbs, which appeared three months after the beginning of oral corticotherapy for bullous pemphigoid. We suspected iatrogenic Kaposi’s sarcoma given the time to lesion onset in relation to the immunosuppressive treatment, together with histological and virological confirmation of HHV-8. The lesions began to subside when corticosteroids were tapered down to 10 mg/day. This was the first case reported in our setting and it emphasized the need for the rigorous monitoring of patients receiving immunosuppressants to avoid overlooking the side effects or rare complications of these treatments.

Mots-clés

Kaposi’s sarcoma, HHV-8, Oral corticotherapy