Hodgkin's disease related Kaposi's sarcoma in a non HIV infected male patient: a case report and review of the literature on a rare condition.

A higher incidence of coexisting lymphoproliferative disease and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) has been reported. However, the association of Hodgkin's disease (HD) and KS is a rare condition, and only 41 cases have been found upon a literature review of the last 33 years. In this study the case of a 70 year-old male patient with consecutive appearance of Hodgkin's disease (HD) and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) without evidence of HIV infection or other immunodeficiency is presented. The data suggest, that the association of KS with HD may be due to common pathogenic mechanisms, rather than a direct causal relationship, except the requirement of an impaired immune system for the development of KS. Recently development of HD and KS has been associated with EBV and HHV-8, respectively. Neither immunosuppression, nor EBV or HHV-8 infection alone result in development of HD or KS. There is no clear time relationship between the development of KS and HD when the two occurred together in the same patient. That finding, coupled with the rarity of the association, suggest, that the association is more likely coincidental.