Kaposi sarcoma

From IDWiki

Background

  • A tumour associated with HHV-8
  • Closely associated with advanced HIV, but may also present as classic, endemic, or transplant-related KS
  • This page is focussed on HIV-related KS

ACTG Staging

  • Based on extent of tumour (T), immune status (I), and severity of systemic illness (S)
Criterion Lower Risk (0) Higher risk (1)
Tumour (T) Confined to skin and/or lymph nodes and/or minimal oral disease (non-nodular KS confined to palate) Tumor-associated edema or ulceration; extensive oral KS; gastrointestinal KS; or KS in other non-nodal viscera
Immune status (I) CD4 cell count >200/µL CD4 cell count <200/µL
Systemic illness (S) No history of OI or thrush; no "B" symptoms; and Karnofsky performance status >70 History of OI or thrush; "B" symptoms present; Karnofsky performance status <70; or other HIV-related illness (eg, neurologic disease, lymphoma)
  • However, staging only distinguishes between good risk (T0I0S0) and poor risk (literally all others), used for predicting mortality in the pre-ART era
    • The 3-year survival rate of patients post-ART with T1S1 is about 50%, whereas for T0S0, T1S0, and T0S1 was all 80-90%; immune status does not appear to be predictive[1]

Clinical Manifestations

  • Non-tender, hyperpigmented skin lesions
  • May be macular or nodular
  • Oral lesions in about a third
  • May involve lymphatics, causing severe edema
  • May involve the viscera, which may be asymptomatic or cause dyspnea (lungs), hematochezia or melena (GI tract), or other signs and symptoms

IRIS

  • Treatment of HIV-associated KS may cause IRIS, either associated with new lesions or with worsening of existing lesions
  • May be "unmasking" (first presentation) or paradoxical worsening of pre-existing lesions
  • Risk factors for IRIS include T1 tumour stage, pre-treatment HIV viral load > 5 logs, detectable HHV-8 viremia, and initiation of ART without concurrent chemotherapy

Management

  • Treatment goals are symptom alleviation, prevention of disease progression, and shrinkage of tumour to alleviate edema, organ compromise, and psychological stress

HIV Patients

Transplant Patients

  • Try to include mTOR inhibitors, such as rapamycin and sirolimus, in the immunosuppression regimens

Local Treatments

  • Intralesional vinblastine 0.2 to 0.3 mg/mL solution with a volume of 0.1 mL per 0.5 cm2 of lesion
    • May be repeated at 3 to 4 weeks
  • Radiation therapy
  • Topical alitretinoin

Systemic Chemotherapy

  • Used in cases of advanced or rapidly-progressive disease
  • Indications include:
    • Symptomatic visceral involvement
    • Widespread skin involvement (eg, more than 25 lesions)
    • Extensive cutaneous KS that is unresponsive to local treatment
    • Extensive edema
    • Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome
    • Progression of KS on ART alone

Direct Antivirals

IRIS

  • Supportive care
  • Chemotherapy
  • Avoid steroids

Prognosis

Prognostic Index

  • Predicts survival following the development of HAART[2]

Criteria

Criterion Score
KS as first AIDS-defining illness -3
Age ≥50 years +2
CD4 count -1 for every 100 cells
S1 stage 3

Interpretation

Score 6 months 1 year 2 years 5 years
0 99.8% 99.3% 99.0% 98.4%
5 98.7% 96.7% 94.6% 91.8%
10 93.3% 83.4% 74.1% 63.1%
15 69.2% 37.8% 19.9% 8.4%

Further Reading

  • Human Herpesvirus-8 Disease. In: Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV. NIH, CDC, HIVMA, and IDSA. Available at [1]
  • Diagnosis and treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma: European consensus-based interdisciplinary guideline (EDF/EADO/EORTC). Eur J Cancer. 2019;114:117-127. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2018.12.036
  1. Nasti G, Talamini R, Antinori A, Martellotta F, Jacchetti G, Chiodo F, Ballardini G, Stoppini L, Di Perri G, Mena M, Tavio M, Vaccher E, D'Arminio Monforte A, Tirelli U; AIDS Clinical Trial Group Staging System in the Haart Era--the Italian Cooperative Group on AIDS and Tumors and the Italian Cohort of Patients Naive from Antiretrovirals. AIDS-related Kaposi's Sarcoma: evaluation of potential new prognostic factors and assessment of the AIDS Clinical Trial Group Staging System in the Haart Era--the Italian Cooperative Group on AIDS and Tumors and the Italian Cohort of Patients Naive From Antiretrovirals. J Clin Oncol. 2003 Aug 1;21(15):2876-82. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2003.10.162. PMID: 12885804.
  2. Stebbing J, Sanitt A, Nelson M, Powles T, Gazzard B, Bower M. A prognostic index for AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Lancet. 2006 May 6;367(9521):1495-502. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68649-2. PMID: 16679162.