Kaposi's sarcoma of the pancreas mimicking pancreatic cancer in an HIV-infected patient. Clinical diagnosis by detection of HHV 8 in bile and complete remission following antiviral and cytostatic therapy with paclitaxel.

Background. Diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is usually made by endoscopic retrograde cholangicpancreatography (ERCP) and corresponding findings in computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging. Kaposi’s sarcoma, a frequent tumor in individuals with a late-stage HIV infection, can be located in the gastrointestinal tract and cause identical symptoms to carcinoma of the same site. A close correlation of this tumor to human herpes virus 8 (HHV 8) has been known for several years and there are reports of successful antiproliferative therapy.