title: Positive staining of tumor-stage Kaposi sarcoma with lymphatic marker D2-40.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dubina
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Goldenberg
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D015415:Biomarkers; C500987:monoclonal antibody D2-40