ART and Kaposi Sarcoma: Mostly Good News

HIV-infected patients with Kaposi sarcoma (KS) often receive both antiretroviral therapy (ART) and chemotherapy, making it difficult to determine which treatment modality is actually controlling the tumor. Now, investigators in London have evaluated clinical outcomes in 254 consecutive HIV-infected patients with KS, most of whom did not receive chemotherapy.

At the time of KS diagnosis, 175 patients had limited disease (i.e., a tumor confined to the skin or lymph nodes, minimal oral disease, or both), and 79 had advanced disease (i.e., tumor-associated edema or ulceration, extensive oral KS, or visceral KS). Eighteen patients (7% of the cohort) were diagnosed with KS while on suppressive ART regimens; these patients generally were older (mea…