Pemphigus and Kaposi's sarcoma.

A 77-year-old woman developed Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) during prednisone therapy for pemphigus foliaceus. There are 7 prior reports in the literature of KS occurring in association with pemphigus. There are multiple reports of KS occurring in patients without pemphigus who are immunosuppressed either by malignancy or by chemotherapy for various disorders. Although the relationship between KS and pemphigus is a real one, KS is more likely related to therapeutically induced immunosuppression in certain predisposed individuals rather than primarily to pemphigus itself.