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  • Title: Malignancies in the AIDS patient: natural history, treatment strategies, and preliminary results.
    Author: Longo DL, Steis RG, Lane HC, Lotze MT, Rosenberg SA, Preble O, Masur H, Rook AH, Fauci AS, Jacob J.
    Journal: Ann N Y Acad Sci; 1984; 437():421-30. PubMed ID: 6598311.
    Abstract:
    Almost 40% of the 3000 US patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have a malignancy at the time of reporting, and the incidence of AIDS patients who develop a malignancy during the course of the disease may be 65-70%. 2 types of malignancies have been noted with increased frequency in AIDS victims: Kaposi's sarcoma and malignant lymphomas. About 35% of all AIDS patients and 50% of homosexual or bisexual victims have developed Kaposi's sarcoma, and those with coincident opportunistic infection have 2.5 times the mortality of those without such infection. There are 2 essential features to the histopathology of Kaposi's sarcoma: 1) vascular proliferation and 2) spindle-shaped neoplastic cells in a network of reticulin fibers that appear to be of endothelial origin. The treatment of the epidemic form of Kaposi's sarcoma has not been successful, and the projected 2-year survival is only 30%. The causes of death in the majority of such patients are overwhelming opportunistic infections, especially cytomegalovirus and Pneumocystis carinii, and irreversible cachexia and wasting. Interferon therapy has had a beneficial effect in patients with disease limited to skin, with T4/T8 ratios over 0.5, and without a prior history of opportunistic infection; however, there is no evidence that interferon exerts any beneficial effects on the underlying immune defects. An aggressive 6-drug combination chemotherapy regimen has been tried on patients whose tumors appeared to be life-threatening and was effective in controlling the Kaposi's sarcoma, but again did not appreciably alter immune parameters. Several other approaches to the treatment of epidemic Kaposi's sarcoma are under evaluation, including gamma interferon, interleukin-2, and plasmapheresis. Patients who develop malignant lymphomas require combined treatment with central nervous system radiation and systemic combination chemotherapy. There is no evidence that the antitumor responses obtained in AIDS-related malignancies translate into survival advantages to the AIDS victim.
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