Diagnosis and Treatment of Kaposi Sarcoma

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

<p class="first" id="P1">Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) is the most common neoplasm of people living with HIV today. In Sub-Saharan Africa KS is among the most common cancers in men, overall. Not only HIV+ individuals present with KS; any immune compromised person infected with Kaposi Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) or human herpesvirus 8 is at risk: the elderly, children in KSHV-endemic areas, and transplant recipients. KS diagnosis is based on detection of the viral protein LANA in the biopsy, but not all cases of KS are the same or will respond to the same therapy. Standard KS therapy has not changed in 20 years, but newer modalities are on the horizon and will be discussed. </p>

Related collections

Most cited references 107

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Sirolimus for Kaposi's sarcoma in renal-transplant recipients.

Giovanni Stallone, Antonio Schena, Barbara Infante … (2005)

Recipients of organ transplants are susceptible to Kaposi's sarcoma as a result of treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. Sirolimus (rapamycin), an immunosuppressive drug, may also have antitumor effects. We stopped cyclosporine therapy in 15 kidney-transplant recipients who had biopsy-proven Kaposi's sarcoma and began sirolimus therapy. All patients underwent an excisional biopsy of the lesion and one biopsy of normal skin at the time of diagnosis. A second biopsy was performed at the site of a previous Kaposi's sarcoma lesion six months after sirolimus therapy was begun. We examined biopsy specimens for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Flk-1/KDR protein, and phosphorylated Akt and p70S6 kinase, two enzymes in the signaling pathway targeted by sirolimus. Three months after sirolimus therapy was begun, all cutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma lesions had disappeared in all patients. Remission was confirmed histologically in all patients six months after sirolimus therapy was begun. There were no acute episodes of rejection or changes in kidney-graft function. Levels of Flk-1/KDR and phosphorylated Akt and p70S6 kinase were increased in Kaposi's sarcoma cells. The expression of VEGF was increased in Kaposi's sarcoma cells and even more so in normal skin cells around the Kaposi's sarcoma lesions. Sirolimus inhibits the progression of dermal Kaposi's sarcoma in kidney-transplant recipients while providing effective immunosuppression. Copyright 2005 Massachusetts Medical Society.

0 comments Cited 162 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Efficient persistence of extrachromosomal KSHV DNA mediated by latency-associated nuclear antigen.

M E Ballestas, P A Chatis, K M Kaye (1999)

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) cells harbor Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) episomes and express a KSHV-encoded latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA). In PEL cells, LANA and KSHV DNA colocalized in dots in interphase nuclei and along mitotic chromosomes. In the absence of KSHV DNA, LANA was diffusely distributed in the nucleus or on mitotic chromosomes. In lymphoblasts, LANA was necessary and sufficient for the persistence of episomes containing a specific KSHV DNA fragment. Furthermore, LANA colocalized with the artificial KSHV DNA episomes in nuclei and along mitotic chromosomes. These results support a model in which LANA tethers KSHV DNA to chromosomes during mitosis to enable the efficient segregation of KSHV episomes to progeny cells.

0 comments Cited 144 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus-induced cellular reprogramming contributes to the lymphatic endothelial gene expression in Kaposi sarcoma.

Hsei-Wei Wang, Matthew Trotter, Dimitrios Lagos … (2004)

The biology of Kaposi sarcoma is poorly understood because the dominant cell type in Kaposi sarcoma lesions is not known. We show by gene expression microarrays that neoplastic cells of Kaposi sarcoma are closely related to lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) and that Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) infects both LECs and blood vascular endothelial cells (BECs) in vitro. The gene expression microarray profiles of infected LECs and BECs show that KSHV induces transcriptional reprogramming of both cell types. The lymphangiogenic molecules VEGF-D and angiopoietin-2 were elevated in the plasma of individuals with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and Kaposi sarcoma. These data show that the gene expression profile of Kaposi sarcoma resembles that of LECs, that KSHV induces a transcriptional drift in both LECs and BECs and that lymphangiogenic molecules are involved in the pathogenesis of Kaposi sarcoma.