KAPOSI'S SARCOMA IN AIDS: DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

KAPOSI'S SARCOMA IN AIDS: DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

AIDS: Etiology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention. Second Edition. DeVita VT Jr et al, eds. Philadelphia, Lippincott, p. 245-61, 1988.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/89650909
Krigel RL; Friedman-Kien AE; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111

Abstract: The recent epidemic of a disseminated, fulminant form of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) was first observed among young homosexual men in large urban centers in the United States. This new form of KS shall be referred to as epidemic KS in light of its association with the AIDS and to distinguish it from the classic, African, and transplant-related varieties of the neoplasm. Although the histopathology of the different stages of KS is essentially identical in all of these groups, the clinical manifestations and course of the disease differ remarkably. KS in AIDS is discussed, including etiology, diagnosis, histopathologic classification, non-AIDS-related KS, incidence, epidemiology and clinical features of epidemic KS, and treatment (chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and biologic response modifiers). The impact of available treatments on survival among patients with epidemic KS has not been demonstrated. Therefore, current treatment should be considered palliative. Early stages of the disease may not need systemic treatment, whereas advanced disease requires treatments with demonstrated antitumor activity. A complete response is difficult to achieve and, if obtained, may require maintenance therapy. Epidemic KS responds to a number of drugs and interferons, but the impact of such tumor control on host survival is uncertain. The overall prognosis for patients with AIDS-associated KS appears more related to the immunosuppression and ongoing HIV infection than to the neoplastic proliferation. To date, none of the experimental immunorestorative or antiviral treatments has shown any significant antineoplastic activity on epidemic KS. (165 Refs)

Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*COMPLICATIONS/THERAPY Human Lymphatic Metastasis Prognosis Sarcoma, Kaposi's/CLASSIFICATION/*DIAGNOSIS/THERAPY Skin Neoplasms/CLASSIFICATION/*DIAGNOSIS/THERAPY MONOGRAPH REVIEW, TUTORIAL REVIEW

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