Classic Kaposi's sarcoma in Arabs--widening ethnic involvement.

Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by human herpes virus 8 also known as Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus. Originally described by Kaposi in 1872, this tumor is recognized as an AIDS-defining illness. Classic Kaposi's sarcoma (CKS) is a relatively indolent disease affecting elderly men from the Mediterranean region or of eastern European descent, besides Jews in whom it is the most common. It has been also reported in the Arab population living in Israel. Kaposi's sarcoma has been reported in Arabs after kidney transplantation; however, there are no reports of CKS occurring in non-Israeli Arabs. This is first such article reporting two Arab patients who presented with CKS thus widening the ethnic and geographic area of involvement with this condition.