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. 2018 Jan 19:13:5.
doi: 10.1186/s13027-018-0177-6. eCollection 2018.

HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma in Maputo, Mozambique: outcomes in a specialized treatment center, 2010-2015

Vini Fardhdiani  1 , Lucas Molfino  1 , Ana Gabriela Zamudio  1 , Rolanda Manuel  2 , Gilda Luciano  2 , Iza Ciglenecki  3 , Barbara Rusch  3 , Laurence Toutous Trellu  4 , Matthew E Coldiron  5
Affiliations

HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma in Maputo, Mozambique: outcomes in a specialized treatment center, 2010-2015

Vini Fardhdiani et al. Infect Agent Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a common HIV-associated malignancy associated with disability, pain and poor outcomes. The cornerstone of its treatment is antiretroviral therapy, but advanced disease necessitates the addition of chemotherapy. In high-income settings, this often consists of liposomal anthracyclines, but in Mozambique, the first line includes conventional doxorubicin, bleomycin and vincristine, which is poorly-tolerated. Médecins Sans Frontières supports the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a specialized HIV and KS treatment center at the Centro de Referencia de Alto Maé in Maputo.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of data collected on patients enrolled at the CRAM between 2010 and 2015, extracting routinely-collected clinical information from patient care databases. KS treatment followed national guidelines, and KS staging followed AIDS Clinical Trials Group and MOH criteria. Baseline description of the cohort and patient outcomes was performed. Risk factors for negative outcomes (death or loss to follow-up) were explored using Cox regression.

Results: Between 2010 and 2015, 1573 patients were enrolled, and 1210 began chemotherapy. A majority were young adult males. At enrollment, CD4 was < 200 cells/μl in 45% of patients. Among patients receiving chemotherapy, 78% received combination doxorubicin-bleomycin-vincristine. Among patients receiving chemotherapy, 43% were lost to follow-up and 8% were known to have died. In multivariate regression, the only risk factors identified with poor outcomes were CD4 < 100 cells/μl at enrollment (Risk ratio 1.5, 95%CI 1.1-2.1, p = 0.02 and having S1 disease (RR 1.7, 95%CI 1.2-2.3, p = 0.001).

Discussion: We describe a large cohort of patients receiving care for HIV-associated KS in a specialized clinic in an urban setting. Outcomes were nonetheless unsatisfactory. Efforts should be made to decrease late referrals and entry into care and to increase access to more effective and better-tolerated treatments like liposomal doxorubicin.

Keywords: AIDS-related opportunistic infections; Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Doxorubicin; Kaposi sarcoma; Mozambique.

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Conflict of interest statement

Not applicable.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Patients included in analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Time until death or loss to follow-up among patients receiving chemotherapy
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Cycles of chemotherapy received by patient vital status
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