Information on Kaposi's Sarcoma

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a illness in which cancer cells are initiate in the tissues under the skin or mucous membranes that line the mouth, nose, and anus. It most frequently is found in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and can be deadly. In the United States, Kaposi sarcoma is most familiar amongst HIV-positive men who have sex with men. It occurs less often in intravenous drug users and is rare in women, haemophiliacs or their sexual partners. A milder type of non-HIV associated Kaposi sarcoma may arise in old men of Mediterranean and Middle European fall and in men in Sub-Saharan Africa.

KS causes red or purple patches, called lesions, on the skin as well as on mucous membranes. It may widen to other organs in the body, such as the lungs, liver or intestinal tract. The red and purples patches often cause no symptoms, though they may be painful. If the cancer spreads to the digestive tract or lungs, bleeding can result.  KS tumors are divided into three groups, based on appearance, with much overlap. Nodular lesions are of varying size and thickness. They are purple and will at times have a halo of brown or yellow pigment around them. Infiltrating lesions may be quite large, may be raised, or grow downward beneath the skin.

Lymphatic lesions can mimic additional causes of swollen lymph nodes and may need a biopsy to rule out infection. Treatment aims for KS are easy to diminish the severity of symptoms, shrink tumors, and stop disease progression. Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill or it may be put into the body by a needle in a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body and can destroy cancer cells outside the original site. Radiation therapy uses high-dose X-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.

Radiation therapy employed to be a common treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma but it is a local treatment for a disease that often is widespread. Other local treatments include cryotherapy, injections of vinblastine directly into the tumor, laser therapy, or radiation therapy targeted at the tumor sites. Another treatment source is interferon-alpha, which is made by the body and has powerful effects on the immune system. Biological therapy tries to get the body to fight the cancer. It uses materials made by the body or made in a laboratory to boost, direct or repair the body's natural defenses against disease.