AIDS AND KAPOSI SARCOMA NLM AIDSLINE Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

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AIDS AND KAPOSI SARCOMA

Immunity to Cancer. Reif AE, Mitchell MS, eds. New York, Academic Press, p. 347-61, 1985.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/86627014
Fahey JL; Taylor J; Afrasiabi R; Weaver M; Mitsuyasu R; Center for Interdisciplinary Res. in Immunology and Disease,; Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology, UCLA Sch. of Medicine, Los; Angeles, CA 90024

Abstract: Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was a rare disease in North America and Europe with prevalence of 0.01-0.06 per 100,000 prior to the epidemic of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The original epidemiologic description of AIDS included, at the beginning, only individuals with evidence of opportunistic infections or KS. The clinical spectrum of AIDS is now known to encompass a broader range of clinical manifestations including a persistent lymphadenopathy syndrome and other disorders. These latter features are often designated AIDS-related complex (ARC). Immune surveillance as a mechanism of containment of KS was indicated by findings of a relative high incidence of KS in renal transplant patients (pts) receiving immunosuppressive drugs. The high incidence of KS associated with AIDS points even more strongly to the role of immune deficiency in allowing KS development. Furthermore, several instances of KS remission are reported after cessation of immune suppression in transplant pts. These findings further attest to the capacity of a competent immune system to control KS. General forms of immunologic change, observed in AIDS pts, are tabulated. The treatment for classical KS is usually local radiotherapy or total body electron beam radiotherapy. KS in AIDS-KS has responded to single agent chemotherapy, such as vinblastine or etoposide, as well as to combinations of drugs such as adriamycin, vinblastine and bleomycin (ABV) in some pts. Combination chemotherapy has not been well tolerated in AIDS pts due to their extreme hematopoietic sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs. An infectious etiology of KS has been considered with cytomegalovirus as a major candidate. Effective prevention and treatment of AIDS-KS could be directed at either the KS agent or the immune deficiency. (27 Refs)
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*IMMUNOLOGY/THERAPY B-Lymphocytes/IMMUNOLOGY Human HTLV-BLV Viruses/IMMUNOLOGY Killer Cells, Natural/IMMUNOLOGY Leukocyte Count Macrophages/IMMUNOLOGY Monocytes/IMMUNOLOGY Retroviridae Infections/*IMMUNOLOGY/THERAPY Sarcoma, Kaposi's/*IMMUNOLOGY/THERAPY Skin Neoplasms/*IMMUNOLOGY/THERAPY T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer/IMMUNOLOGY T-Lymphocytes, Suppressor-Effector/IMMUNOLOGY MEETING PAPER

KWDacquiredimmunodeficiencysyndrome/KWDimmunology/therapyb-lymphocytes/immunologyhumanhtlv-blvviruses/immunologykillercells,natural/immunologyleukocytecountmacrophages/immunologymonocytes/immunologyretroviridaeinfections/KWDimmunology/therapysarcoma,kaposi's/KWDimmunology/therapyskinneoplasms/KWDimmunology/therapyt-lymphocytes,helper-inducer/immunologyt-lymphocytes,suppressor-effector/immunologymeetingpaper
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M8710271

Copyright © 1987 - National Library of Medicine. Reproduced under license with the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.

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