The role of occupation and a past history of malaria in the etiology of classic Kaposi's sarcoma: a case-control study in north-east Sardinia.

A case-control study was performed to determine the role of rural factors including occupation and previous malaria exposure in the development of classic Kaposi's sarcoma (CKS) in a high incidence area of Europe. The occurrence of CKS association with other malignancies was also examined. The results showed that the risk of having CKS was significantly increased in subjects farming cereals, while a previous history of malaria did not influence the risk of developing CKS. A near-significant increase in associated tumours was found.