HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma in African children.
HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma (HIV-KS) is common in African countries where HIV infection is pandemic and anti-retroviral medication is not readily available. Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), which is the essential, but not the sole aetiological factor in KS, is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and is substantially more prevalent in HIV-seropositive than in HIV-seronegative subjects. In children in sub-Saharan Africa, KS, whether it be HIV-KS or African endemic KS is much more prevalent than any other epidemiological forms of KS. In addition, in sub-Saharan children oral KS is common, and the life-expectancy of HIV-seropositive children with KS is short. Since generalized systemic KS is frequently associated with oral HIV-KS, it is advisable to introduce systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy early in the course of oral HIV-KS. Although the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) brought about a decline in the incidence of HIV-KS worldwide, HIV-KS remains a significant problem in sub-Saharan Africa where the prevalence of HHV-8 infection is high and access to HAART is limited.
Feller
L
L
Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine, School of Oral Health Sciences, University of Limpopo, Medunsa Campus, South Africa. Ifeller@ul.ac.za
Khammissa
R A G
RA
Gugushe
T S
TS
Chikte
U M E
UM
Wood
N H
NH
Meyerov
R
R
Lemmer
J
J
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000453:epidemiology*