Kaposi's sarcoma: case report and treatment options.

Oct 2011

Tan WC, Chan LC.

Source

Department of Dermatology, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia. tanwooichiang@yahoo.com

Abstract

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is strongly associated with Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV8) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection (HIV). It was the first malignancy to be linked with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). We report a case of Kaposi's sarcoma in a newly diagnosed retroviral homosexual patient with CD4 count of 21. He had multiple firm discrete violaceous plaques and nodules scattered over the face, scalp, hard palate, trunk and genitalia. Biopsy of a skin nodule over the trunk and a biopsy of a lesion from the gastric mucosa confirmed Kaposi's sarcoma. He was started on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) and cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen) was given for the lesions over the skin. He responded well to treatment. Liquid nitrogen is a useful adjuvant treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma.

PubMed

Imiquimod 5% cream for treatment of HIV-negative Kaposi's sarcoma skin lesions: A phase I to II, open-label trial in 17 patients.

Imiquimod 5% cream for treatment of HIV-negative Kaposi's sarcoma skin lesions: A phase I to II, open-label trial in 17 patients.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008 Apr
Célestin Schartz NE, Chevret S, Paz C, Kerob D, Verola O, Morel P, Lebbé C.
Department of Dermatology 2, Hôpital Saint Louis AP-HP, Paris, France. noel.schartz@noos.fr

BACKGROUND: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), a virus-associated neoplasm, can be treated locally or systemically with interferon alfa. Therefore, imiquimod, an immune response modifier able to induce interferon-alpha secretion in situ, could prove a good local treatment for KS skin lesions.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the efficacy and safety of imiquimod 5% cream for the topical treatment of classic or endemic KS skin lesions in patients who are HIV negative.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective, open-label, single center, phase II clinical trial. Imiquimod cream was applied under occlusion 3 times a week for 24 weeks. The main efficacy end points were the safety of topical imiquimod and the overall clinical response in patients evaluated on the basis of modified AIDS Clinical Trials Group criteria at 36 weeks. The statistical analysis was based on the intent-to-treat data set.

RESULTS: Seventeen patients were enrolled. Eight (47%) presented objective overall clinical response (2 complete and 6 partial responses). Tumor progression was noted in 6 patients. The most frequent side effects were local itching and erythema, seen in 9 patients (53%).

LIMITATIONS: This was not a randomized placebo-controlled study and was restricted to a small number of patients.

CONCLUSION: Topical imiquimod 5% cream had antitumor activity in about half the patients with classic and endemic KS and was generally well tolerated.

Journal of American Academy of Dermatology