title: Increasing incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma in black South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (1983-2006).
abstract: The aim of the study was to describe the temporal trends in the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in black South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The study was designed as a retrospective record review. The incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma was estimated using administrative records for patients receiving care for KS through public sector oncology clinics in KZN, 1983-2006. Annual age-standardized incidence rates were calculated using provincial census data for the denominator. Age-specific rates were calculated for the pre-AIDS (1983-1989) and for the generalized AIDS epidemic eras (2006). Age-standardized incidence of KS increased in KZN from <1:100,000 in 1990 to at least 15:100,000 in 2006; this increase was observed in both men and women. There was a shift in the peak age-specific incidence rates from the sixth decade of life in the pre-AIDS era to the fourth and fifth decades in the AIDS era. In conclusion, KS is a growing public health problem in KZN, South Africa. These data reinforce the need for comprehensive national access to and roll-out of antiretroviral drugs, given their success in prevention and treatment of KS in first-world settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal. mosama@ukzn.ac.za
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mosam
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Carrara
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shaik
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uldrick
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berkman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aboobaker
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Coovadia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors