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Endemic Kaposi sarcoma in HIV-negative children and adolescents: an evaluation of overlapping and distinct clinical features in comparison with HIV-related disease.

El-Mallawany NK, Villiera J, Kamiyango W, Peckham-Gregory EC, Scheurer ME, Allen CE, McAtee CL, Legarreta A, Dittmer DP, Kovarik CL, Chiao EY, Martin SC, Ozuah NW, Mehta PS, Kazembe PN. Endemic Kaposi sarcoma in HIV-negative children and adolescents: an evaluation of overlapping and distinct clinical features in comparison with HIV-related disease. Infectious agents and cancer. 2018 Nov 9; 13:33.

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Abstract:

Background: Endemic Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was first described in African children over fifty years ago, but has recently been overshadowed by HIV-related disease. We aimed to evaluate the similarities and differences between endemic HIV-negative and epidemic HIV-positive pediatric KS in a KS-associated herpesvirus-endemic region of Africa. Methods: We describe clinical characteristics of 20 HIV-negative children with endemic KS over a six-year period and compare findings with a historical control-an HIV-related pediatric KS cohort from Lilongwe, Malawi. Results: The HIV-negative endemic KS cohort was 70% male with a median age of 9.3 years. Lymph node involvement was present in 50%, hyperpigmented skin lesions in 45%, and woody edema in 40%. One patient (5%) presented with oral KS involvement and no patients presented initially with visceral KS. Significant anemia (hemoglobin < 8 g/dL) and thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 100 × 10/L) were found at time of original KS diagnosis in 45 and 40% respectively. In both HIV-negative and HIV-positive cohorts, lymphadenopathy was the most common presentation, prototypical skin lesions were often absent, severe cytopenias were a common clinical feature, and treatment outcomes were similar. Patients with endemic KS demonstrated less frequent oral involvement (5% versus 29%, = 0.03) and a lower proportion of patients with visceral involvement (0% versus 16%, = 0.06). Conclusions: These data suggest clinical overlap between epidemiological variants. Treatment protocols for pediatric KS in sub-Saharan Africa should be devised to include both endemic HIV-negative and epidemic HIV-related disease to better define the clinical and biological comparison.





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