Kaposi's sarcoma: Difference between revisions
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==Treatment== | ==Treatment== | ||
[[Kaposi's sarcoma medical therapy|Medical therapy]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma surgery|Surgical options]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma primary prevention|Primary prevention]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma secondary prevention|Secondary prevention]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma cost-effectiveness of therapy|Financial costs]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma future or investigational therapies|Future therapies]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma medical therapy|Medical therapy]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma surgery|Surgical options]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma primary prevention|Primary prevention]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma secondary prevention|Secondary prevention]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma cost-effectiveness of therapy|Financial costs]] | [[Kaposi's sarcoma future or investigational therapies|Future therapies]] | ||
==History and theories== | ==History and theories== |
Revision as of 15:53, 17 January 2012
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Template:DiseaseDisorder infobox
Kaposi's sarcoma Microchapters |
Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
Case Studies |
Kaposi's sarcoma On the Web |
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Kaposi's sarcoma |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
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Overview
Historical Perspective
Pathophysiology
Epidemiology & Demographics
Risk Factors
Screening
Causes
Differentiating Kaposi's Sarcoma
Complications & Prognosis
Diagnosis
History and Symptoms | Physical Examination | Staging | Laboratory tests | Electrocardiogram | X Rays | CT | MRI Echocardiography or Ultrasound | Other images | Alternative diagnostics
Treatment
Medical therapy | Surgical options | Primary prevention | Secondary prevention | Financial costs | Future therapies
History and theories
The disease is named after Moritz Kaposi (1837–1902), a Hungarian dermatologist who first described the symptoms in 1872. Research over the next century suggested that KS, like some other forms of cancer, might be caused by a virus or genetic factors, but no definite cause was found.
With the rise of the AIDS epidemic, KS, as initially one of the most common AIDS symptoms, was researched more intensively in hopes that it might reveal the cause of AIDS.
In 1994, Yuan Chang, Patrick S. Moore, and Ethel Cesarman at Columbia University in New York isolated genetic pieces of a virus from a KS lesion. They used representational difference analysis (a method to subtract out all of the human DNA from a sample) to isolate the viral genes. They then used these small DNA fragments as starting points to sequence the rest of the viral genome in 1996. This, the eighth human herpesvirus (HHV-8)—now known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)—has since been found in all KS lesions tested, and is considered the cause of the disease. KSHV is a unique human tumor virus that has incorporated cellular genes that cause tumors into its genome ("molecular piracy"); the stolen cellular genes may help the virus escape from the immune system, but in doing so it also causes cells to proliferate. It is related to Epstein-Barr virus, a very common herpesvirus that can also cause human cancers.
KSHV infection does not always lead to KS; it is still unclear what other factors may be required, such as pre-existing immune system damage, or a specific interaction with HIV or other viruses. However, research in Africa has shown that even in the absence of HIV/AIDS, KS is more common in men than women although KSHV infection is equal between both sexes. This suggests that sex hormones may either protect from or predispose to KS in persons infected with the virus.
KS awareness
In AIDS patients, Kaposi's sarcoma is considered an opportunistic infection, i.e., a disease that is able to gain a foothold in the body because the immune system has been weakened. With the rise of AIDS in Africa, where KSHV is widespread, KS has become the most frequently reported cancer in some countries, such as Zimbabwe.
Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti succumbed to the disease in 1997.
Because of their highly visible nature, external lesions are sometimes the presenting symptom of AIDS. Kaposi's sarcoma entered the awareness of the general public with the release of the film Philadelphia, in which the main character was fired after his employers found out he was HIV-positive due to visible lesions. Unfortunately, by the time KS lesions appear, it is likely that the immune system has already been severely weakened.
cs:Kaposiho sarkom de:Kaposi-Sarkom it:Sarcoma di Kaposi he:סרקומת קפוסי hu:Kaposi-szarkóma nl:Kaposisarcoom sr:Капошијев сарком fi:Kaposin sarkooma sv:Kaposis sarkom