AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma is a clonal neoplasm.
Kaposi's sarcoma is generally believed to be a non-neoplastic hyperproliferation because it may regress spontaneously and its spindle cells lack features of typical tumor cells, such as aneuploidy, nuclear atypia, and permissive growth in cell culture. A fundamental characteristic of neoplasms is clonality, in that they arise from clonal replication of a single cell whereas reactive processes are derived from polyclonal proliferation. We used an X chromosome inactivation assay to determine the clonality of Kaposi's sarcoma nodules from patients with AIDS-related disease. The assay is based on a methyl-sensitive restriction digest followed by PCR amplification of the highly polymorphic androgen receptor gene. Two of three evaluable cases had a monoclonal pattern of inactivation, and the third case had a clonal expansion of cells with an altered microsatellite repeat sequence. These data suggest that Kaposi's sarcoma (at least in the AIDS setting) is a clonal neoplasm.
Rabkin
C S
CS
Viral Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, EPN/434, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Bedi
G
G
Musaba
E
E
Sunkutu
R
R
Mwansa
N
N
Sidransky
D
D
Biggar
R J
RJ
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D001706:Biopsy; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D009365:Neoplasm Regression, Spontaneous; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D014960:X Chromosome
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D011944:Receptors, Androgen