What about Non-AIDS Associated Kaposi’s Sarcoma? Clinical Features and Efficacy of Chemotherapy: A Monocentric Experience

Abstract

Background: Kaposi’s sarcoma is a mesenchymal proliferative process of blood and lymphatic system cells. The must well-known risk factors are immunosuppression and human herpes virus. Non-HIV related Kaposi’s sarcoma is a rare indolent entity that is more common among people of Mediterranean origin. Patients and Methods: The purpose of this retrospective analysis was to review a series of 21 patients with nonAIDS associated Kaposi’s sarcoma who presented to the Department of Oncology at the University Hospital Tangier between 2017 and 2022. Data were extracted from medical records using a pre-established survey sheet. The objective of this work is to define the major clinical features, treatment outcomes, and risk factors of the classic Mediterranean form of the disease in North Africa. Results: Twenty-one patients with non-AIDS associated Kaposi’s sarcoma were identified, with ages ranging from 52 to 98 years; the male-to-female ratio was 17:3. All of our patients had the classic form of the disease with negative HIV serology. In 71% of cases, Kaposi’s sarcoma was limited to the skin, without lymph node or visceral involvement. The lesions were multiple in all cases, mostly bilateral, and most commonly localized to the skin of the lower extremities. A complete response was achieved in 50% of patients using systemic therapy, and no patients died from Kaposi’s sarcoma. Conclusion: Unlike Kaposi’s sarcoma in AIDS patients, non-AIDS associated Kaposi’s sarcoma from Mediterranean countries is less agressive and more responsive to systemic therapeutic strategies.