Kaposi’s sarcoma Not What You Think

When you first hear the name Kaposi’s sarcoma many of you will visualize that scene in the movie Philadelphia when the young lawyer played by Tom Hanks is asked what he has on his face. He replies he has AIDS. Most people assume that Kaposi’s sarcoma is a disease of AIDS. That is only half right the other half is the more important part.

Origin of Kaposi’s Sarcoma

Dr. Moritz Kaposi originally wrote about this cancer in 1872; it was, obviously, named after its discoverer. The original thinking was that it was a disease of older European men of Jewish or Italian background or young African men. Eventually they added patients who had had organ transplants to that list.

Who are affected with this Disease?

Originally very few women suffered this disease. The ratio was fifteen older men for every one woman. Around the time that AIDS was becoming known the ratio changed and it was four men diagnosed for every one woman. Researchers are unsure of the reason for this change.

Impact of HIV Aids on Kaposi’s sarcoma

Once HIV became a known entity, over twenty years ago, that became the source of most of the current cases of Kaposi’s sarcoma. With better treatments for HIV and AIDS the incidences of this sarcoma have dropped in the last five years by over eighty percent. This is a big step in the right direction!

Kaposi’s sarcoma itself is not life threatening. The lesions, or sores, that develop because of it are sometimes painful, sometimes disfiguring, and can cause swelling depending on where they are located.

What are the Places that Kaposi’s sarcoma Occur?

They usually occur in the mouth, nose, anus or genital areas. Or can develop in the skin surrounding the eyes or on the legs. The lesions resemble large blemishes. They can be red, purple or brownish in color.

But their size or color is not the issue nor is the pain they may cause. The scary part of Kaposi’s sarcoma is that it spread to the organs, particularly to the lungs, gastrointestinal tract and liver. This is when it becomes a serious life threatening disease. If it spreads to the lungs it can cause difficulty breathing. If it gets into the gastrointestinal tract it can cause serious bleeding.

Three Groups of Kaposi’s sarcoma

Kaposi’s sarcoma is divided into three sub-groups; African KS, Transplant-Related KS and AIDS-Related KS. Each one has a slightly different set of issues to deal with. The African type was discovered in Equatorial Africa. It starts earlier than the others, but usually doesn’t spread into the body’s organs. But it has another form that strikes young children, before they hit puberty; developing in girls one third as frequently as the boys.

This one is a killer usually within three years. Transplant-Related is one hundred and fifty times more likely to develop in transplant patients because of the immune suppression drugs they must take. But, it’s more likely to only affect the skin. Lastly, is the AIDS-Related type and. this one can be the worst. But recently new improved treatments have been developed to greatly reduce the incidences of this disease in AIDS sufferers.