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Kaposi's sarcoma

American  
[kuh-poh-seez, kap-uh-] / kəˈpoʊ siz, ˈkæp ə- /

noun

Pathology.
  1. a cancer of connective tissue characterized by painless, purplish-red to brown plaquelike or pimply lesions on the extremities, trunk, or head, and sometimes involving the lungs, viscera, etc., occurring in a mild form among older men of certain Mediterranean and central African populations and in a more virulent form among persons with AIDS.


Kaposi's sarcoma British  
/ kæˈpəʊsɪz /

noun

  1. a form of skin cancer found in Africans and more recently in victims of AIDS

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Kaposi's sarcoma

After Hungarian dermatologist Moritz Kaposi, or Moriz Kohn (1837–1902), who described it in 1872

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The company reported the second Kaposi’s sarcoma case at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 30, 2026

They have two viruses in their sights: murine leukemia virus and Kaposi's sarcoma virus.

From Science Daily Apr. 17, 2024

Kaposi’s sarcoma was a signal of near-certain death in the 1980s, and now the pustules of monkeypox are a harbinger of searing pain, however temporary and non-deadly.

From Washington Post Aug. 2, 2022

When he exposes the cause of his shame, a body covered in Kaposi's sarcoma lesions, this flinty woman reveals a wise heart: "It's a cancer. Nothing more. Nothing more human than that."

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 26, 2018

A few days later, a cluster of eight cases was reported in New York City, also involving young patients, this time exhibiting a rare form of skin cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma.

From Textbooks Jun. 19, 2013

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