ObjectiveTo investigate the protein expressions of PTEN and p-Akt in Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) tissue and their significance in the development of KS.MethodsThe EnVision two-step method was used to detect the expressions of PTEN and p-Akt proteins in tissue specimens from the lesions of 17 patients with KS and from the normal skin of 17 normal human controls.ResultsPTEN and P-Akt were mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of cells.No significant difference was observed in the positivity rate of PTEN [76.5％(13/17)vs.88.2％(15/17),P＞ 0.10] between the KS and control specimens.p-Akt was expressed in all(100％) of the 17 KS specimens,but in none of the control specimens.ConclusionThe abnormal expression of PTEN protein may play a certain role in the development of KS.