Positive staining of tumor-stage Kaposi sarcoma with lymphatic marker D2-40.
BACKGROUND
Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a vascular tumor first described by Moritz Kaposi (Kohn) in 1872 and recently linked to human herpesvirus 8. All forms of KS share the same pathologic features, including atypical spindle cells and slitlike vascular spaces. The exact origin of the neoplastic endothelial cells (vascular vs lymphatic) has recently been debated.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to further investigate the origin of neoplastic cells in KS.


METHODS
D2-40, a novel monoclonal antibody to a sialoglycoprotein that reacts with a fixation-resistant epitope in lymphatic endothelium, was used to investigate possible lymphatic origin of neoplastic cells in KS.


RESULTS
We report 5 cases of tumor-stage KS that showed positive staining with lymphatic marker D2-40.


CONCLUSIONS
Small study size is a limitation.


CONCLUSIONS
The origin of neoplastic cells in KS may be lymphatic or mixed lymphatic and vascular. Further studies are needed to elucidate the exact origin of neoplastic cells in KS.
Dubina
Meghan
M
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Goldenberg
Gary
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D015415:Biomarkers; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000473:pathology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D015415:Biomarkers; C500987:monoclonal antibody D2-40