The Spectrum of African Kaposi's Sarcoma: Is it Consequential upon Diverse Immunological Responses?

Abstract

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a complex, multicellular growth, the pathogenesis of which remains unclear. Endemic African Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) is characterized by its epidemiological peculiarities, protean clinical manifestations and an unpredictable natural history. A wide spectrum of clinical manifestations occurs, although the reasons for the heterogeneity remain unclear. Clinical observations in the presentation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated epidemic African KS show a considerable overlap with endemic African KS obscuring the conventional binomial concept of African KS which was developed in light of the HIV epidemic. It is probable that once the KS lesions are expressed clinically, the subsequent spectrum and behaviour of all forms of African KS are consequential upon a complex interplay between the nature of the host cell-mediated immune responses and the putative aetiological factor(s).

Kaposi's Sarcoma in Young Patients Treated with Orthovoltage Irradiation and Having a Minimum Follow-Up of Forty-Six Years

“…In patients with classic KS, the occurrence of lymphoproliferative disorders is a common feature 13 . In our 3 patients we observed a benign disease course similar to the African endemic KS affecting young adults, a generally benign nodular disease 14 .…”

Sequence analyses of human herpesvirus-8 strains from both African human immunodeficiency virus-negative and -positive childhood endemic Kaposi's sarcoma show a close relationship with strains identified in febrile children and high variation in the K1 glycoprotein.

“…African KS-CE presents in different forms to the predominant skin-associated adult AIDS KS in Western patients (Matondo & Zumla, 1996). KS-CE is a more disseminated condition with various degrees of lymphadenopathy and a rapidly progressing fatal form .…”