Linear Cutaneous Lesions of Kaposi's Sarcoma: A Clinical Clue to the Diagnosis of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

To the Editor.—  We have identified six young male patients who presented with Kaposi's sarcoma in a linear configuration, a subtle, previously unreported, but useful morphologic clue to the diagnosis of the epidemic form of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS).Four different clinical presentations of KS are currently recognized and include KS occurring in elderly men of Eastern European and Mediterranean ancestry, KS arising in Africans, KS in iatrogenically immunosuppressed patients, and epidemic KS associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).¹ Unlike the other three clinical groups, KS lesions in patients with AIDS may vary considerably in their clinical morphology. Typically, these lesions appear as oval macules or papules that range from pink to reddish-brown or purple. Epidemic KS lesions also vary in size from 1 to 2 mm to several centimeters in diameter. Although they may arise in any anatomic site, lesions of KS in patients with AIDS frequently develop on