Oct 8, 1993 - 5 Gill PS, Akil B, Colletti P, Rarick M, McCutchan JA,. Loureiro C, et al. Pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma: clinical findings and results of therapy.
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Thorax 1994;49:958-960
Results of chemotherapy in 30 AIDS patients with symptomatic pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma Jacques L Cadranel, Sammy Kammoun, Sylvie Chevret, Antoine Parrot, Michel Denis, Cecile Winter, Marie-France Carette, Willy Rozenbaum, Georges M Akoun, Charles M Mayaud Abstract Background The aim of this study was improved with cytotoxic chemotherapy.3 The to report the effects of a three-drug chemo- efficacy of this approach has been evaluated in therapy regimen in patients with symp- several small series"8 in which some prognostic tomatic AIDS-related pulmonary Kaposi's factors for survival have been identified.45 We sarcoma and to analyse prognostic factors report our results in 30 consecutive HIV serofor survival. positive patients with symptomatic pulmonary Methods - Thirty consecutive HIV sero- Kaposi's sarcoma treated with a three-drug positive patients with respiratory symp- chemotherapy regimen between July 1988 and toms and proven pulmonary Kaposi's August 1990, and analyse the prognostic factors sarcoma were treated with the same therafor survival. peutic regimen comprising adriamycin (30 mglm2), bleomycin (10 mg/m2), and vincristine (2 mg) administered intra- Methods PATIENTS venously once every four weeks. Results - Two patients died during the first During the study period all patients admitted to our chest department for respiratory symptoms course of chemotherapy. In the other 28 related to proven pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma cases dyspnoea improved and Pao2 rose and without associated active pulmonary indespite minimal (n = 17) or no (n = 11) fection were treated with the same therapeutic improvement in the chest radiographic regimen, after giving informed consent. Twenty appearance. The median survival from the beginning of chemotherapy was 6 5 nine patients were homosexual and one was months. Poor prognostic factors for sur- infected by a blood transfusion. Twenty one vival were: (1) absence of cutaneous Ka- had full blown AIDS having had opportunistic diagnosed posi's sarcoma; (2) previous opportunistic infections (n = 20), or previously cutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma (n = 23), or both. infection; (3) CD4 cell count
