Evaluation of the treatment effectiveness of HIV-infected Kaposi sarcoma patients in Egypt.

Abstract

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is the most common tumor associated with HV. KS develops as lesions that appear on the skin, lymph nodes, lung, digestive tract and mucosal lining. The color of such lesions can be brown, pink, red or violet and it is difficult to be distinguished in individuals with dark skin. Our study focuses on HIV associated KS (HIV-KS) in Egypt and it was found that HIV-KS patients are treated with a combination of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and chemotherapy. The main 3 chemotherapy regimens used are liposomal doxorubicin, paclitaxel, and ABV (Adriamycin, bleomycin and vincristine\vinblastine). Studies revealed the variation of efficacy between the 3 regimens with or without the HAART therapy, however such studies are lacking on Egyptian patients. The aim of the current study is to assess and compare the efficacy of the treatments systemically and clinically in HIV-KS Egyptian patients. Since inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α) have been confirmed about their significant role in initiation and progression of HIV-KS therefore we rely on them in our study to assess the efficacy of different regimen during a period of three months by collecting blood samples at the beginning of the study and after 3 months period for measurement of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α levels by using sandwich ELISA technique. Moreover, lesions will be assessed regarding their size, shape, color and height.