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Review
. 2021 Nov 14;13(22):5692.
doi: 10.3390/cancers13225692.

Epidemiology of Kaposi's Sarcoma

Sophie Grabar  1 , Dominique Costagliola  2
Affiliations
Review

Epidemiology of Kaposi's Sarcoma

Sophie Grabar et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Kaposi's sarcoma is an angioproliferative tumor caused by human herpesvirus 8 in the context of immunodeficiency, such as that induced by HIV infection or immunosuppressive therapy. Its incidence has dramatically fallen in patients living with HIV (PLHIV) since the introduction of potent antiretroviral combinations 25 years ago due to the restoration of immunity and better control of HIV replication. However, KS is still one of the most frequently occurring cancers in PLHIV, in particular in men who have sex with men and in sub-Saharan Africa, where it is still endemic. Even in the context of restored immunity, the risk of KS is still more than 30 times higher in PLHIV than in the general population. Recent evidence indicates that early initiation of antiretroviral treatment, which is recommended by current guidelines, may reduce the risk of KS but it needs to be accompanied by early access to care. This review mainly focuses on the recent epidemiological features of KS in the context of HIV infection.

Keywords: HIV infection; KSHV; Kaposi’s sarcoma; cancer; epidemiology; human herpesvirus 8.

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Conflict of interest statement

Sophie Grabar declares no conflict of interest. Dominique Costagliola reports HIV grants from Janssen (2017–2018, 2019–2020) and MSD France (2015–2017), personal fees from Janssen (2018), MSD France (2017) and Gilead (2018, 2020) for lectures, and personal fees from Merck Switzerland (2017) for consultancy, outside the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Risk factors of Kaposi’s sarcoma in PLHIV. Adapted from Guiguet et al., Lancet HIV 2009 [21]. Note: RR: relative risk; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval; MSM: men having sex with men; IDU: intravenous drug user. p-values: CD4: p < 10−4, HIV viral load: p < 10−4, exposure to cART: p < 10−4, age: p = 0.04, sex and exposure group: p < 0.0001, origin: p = 0.008.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Incidence rates of Kaposi’s sarcoma in 2020. Data sources: Globocan 2020 (http://gco.iarc.fr/today, accessed on 29 June 2021).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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