Histopathological patterns and topographical distribution of Kaposi Sarcoma at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania.

Reginald Gervas,Edward Mgaya

doi:10.4314/ahs.v21i4.29

Abstract

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is derived from endothelial cell lineage; it is caused by Human Herpes Virus-8 (HHV-8) facilitated by immune suppression. KS remains one of the commonest sarcoma seen in Tanzania. The paucity of recent data makes monitoring the disease a challenge. This study describes the Histopathological Patterns and Topographical distribution of Kaposi Sarcoma at Muhimbili National Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Tanzania. A hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional study was done to review biopsies sent to the Central Pathology Laboratory (CPL), Muhimbili National Hospital from 2010 to 2014. A total of 818 cases representing 1.8 % of all malignancies during the study period were enrolled in the study. The age of patients at diagnosis ranged from 6 months to 94 years old, with the median age being 37 years. Male to female ratio was 1.4:1.0. Females were younger than males (p < 0.001). The majority of the lesions were in the lower limbs, 352 (64.1 %). Nodular KS accounted for 74.5% of all cases. Kaposi's sarcoma remains a common malignancy. The patients present late at diagnosis. Early diagnosis and improved treatment protocols remain to be key steps towards reducing the burden of KS.

Highlights

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was first described by Moritz Kaposi, a Hungarian dermatologist in 1872; he described it as “idiopathic multiple pigmented sarcoma of the skin” 1
Materials and Methods Study site and data collection This was a retrospective study whereby histologically confirmed cases of Kaposi’s sarcoma from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2014 were retrieved from the archives at Central Pathology Laboratory at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH)
During the study period, a total of 45,250 malignancies were registered at Central Pathology Laboratory at MNH

Summary

Introduction

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was first described by Moritz Kaposi, a Hungarian dermatologist in 1872; he described it as “idiopathic multiple pigmented sarcoma of the skin” 1. Endemic KS, known as African KS was described in the 1950s. This form of KS has a more aggressive evolution than the classic form and the skin is extensively infiltrated; it affects both children and adults [5, 6]. Iatrogenic KS, known as Immunosuppression-associated KS develops in individuals such as those receiving organ transplant 7. The endemic KS, known as AIDS-associated KS is a major AIDS-defining malignancy; usually, it develops among HIV patients who do not receive highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) 8. This study describes the Histopathological Patterns and Topographical distribution of Kaposi Sarcoma at Muhimbili National Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Tanzania. Histopathological patterns and topographical distribution of Kaposi Sarcoma at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania.

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