title: Epidemiological surveillance of the HIV/AIDS complex through the analysis of trends in the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma in Cali, Colombia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) incidence has markedly changed in the general population since the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the eighties and after the introduction of the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in the nineties.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate incidence rate trends for Kaposi's sarcoma before and during the (HIV/AIDS) epidemic in Cali, Colombia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Exploratory ecological study that included all Kaposi's sarcoma cases identified by the Cali Cancer Registry from 1962-2007, and 12,887 cases of HIV/AIDS recorded in the Municipal Health Secretariat of Cali between 1986 and 2010. The joinpoint regression model was used to conduct the incidence rate analyses between the years 1962 and 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 349 KS cases were identified during the study period. Only 5.3% of the cases (n=20) were diagnosed in the pre-epidemic era (1963-1987), of these, 35% were women, and 90% of the tumors were located on the skin. In contrast, 94.7% of KS cases (n=329) were discovered after the emergence of HIV-AIDS. There was a significant decrease in the proportion of women (10.9%, p <0.001) and an increase in the frequency of tumors with an extra-cutaneous location (19.1%, p <0.01) compared to those cases diagnosed in the pre-epidemic era. Notification rates of HIV/AIDS have decreased since 2002 in both genders but KS incidence rates have decreased since 2004 in men only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The downward trend in the incidence of these diseases may be associated with factors that prevent the transmission of HIV infection or limit the spread of HIV in the community. Cancer registries represent a resource for timely, population-based surveil-lance of HIV-associated malignancies in Cali, Colombia.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Registry of Cali. Departament of Pathology. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. E-mail: alejandrasaldarriaga20@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saldarriaga-Cantillo
authors.affiliation: Cancer Registry of Cali. Departament of Pathology. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. E-mail: alejandrasaldarriaga20@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Luis Eduardo
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bravo
authors.affiliation: Secretaria de Salud Publica Municipal de Cali.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Londoño
authors.affiliation: Cancer Registry of Cali. Departament of Pathology. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. E-mail: alejandrasaldarriaga20@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Luz Stella
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: García
authors.affiliation: Cancer Registry of Cali. Departament of Pathology. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. E-mail: alejandrasaldarriaga20@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Collazos
keywords: HIV-AIDS; Kaposi sarcoma; TAAR; antiretroviral therapy