Demographic, clinical and treatment characteristics of patients with Kaposi’s sarcoma: A single-center study

Abstract

Objective:
 The clinical,
 demographic and treatment characteristics of patients with Kaposi’s sarcoma
 (KS) are not well-defined. There is lack of consensus on treatment modalities.
 Thus, we aimed to define demographic, clinical characteristics and treatment
 outcomes in our cohort of patients with KS.
 
        Patients and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was
 done and all patients who were followed up in our specialized cutaneous tumors
 outpatient clinic with a diagnosis of KS between 2006 and 2018 were included in
 the study.
 
        Results: A total of 25 patients were included
 in the study. The mean age of the patients was 66 and 80% were male. The most
 common form of KS was classic type (80%). During a mean follow-up of 43 months,
 the most frequently administered treatments were cryotherapy, interferons,
 radiotherapy, topical imiquimod and topical timolol. Overall a complete
 response was observed in 9 (36%) patients.
 
         Conclusion: The clinical and demographic
 characteristics of our cohort match those observed in existing literature. We
 think that the use of local treatments such as cryotherapy, topical imiquimod
 should be used more frequently in patients with limited disease. Considering
 the efficacy of timolol in other vascular tumors, future prospective studies
 investigating the effects of timolol in KS are highly warranted.