Sarcomas other than Kaposi's sarcoma in HIV

• Published in: SA orthopaedic journal Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 39
• Main Authors: Mohammedali, S, Marais, L C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Johannesburg Medpharm Publications 01.07.2017
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Kaposis sarcoma
• ISSN: 1681-150X; 2309-8309
• DOI: 10.17159/2309-8309/2017/v16n1a5

INTRODUCTION: Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma are some of the malignancies known to be associated with HIV infection and afflict many people living with HIV/Aids, as published widely in previous literature. In contrast, scarce information is available with regard to the occurrence of other primary musculoskeletal malignancies and whether there may be a causal relation between the occurrence of these malignancies and HIV. The aim of this study is to describe which sarcomas (other than Kaposi's) occur in patients living with HIV. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of consecutive adult individuals who presented to our tumour unit with musculoskeletal sarcomas other than Kaposi's sarcoma. The histological diagnosis of tumours in HIV-positive patients were then compared to that of an age-matched cohort of HIV-negative patients. RESULTS: A total of 59 patients were included in the study. Thirty patients were positive and 29 patients negative. We recorded a wider variety of sarcomas in HIV-positive individuals than previously reported. There was a tendency towards an increased number of cases of rhabdomyosarcoma in the HIV-positive group and chondrosarcoma in the HIV-negative group although this did not reach statistical significance, p=0.05 and 0.08 respectively. There was no difference in the prevalence of metastasis at the time of presentation with 16 cases having metastases in the HIV-positive group (53.3%) and 14 cases (48.2%) in the HIV-negative group, p=0.69. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of musculoskeletal sarcomas other than Kaposi's sarcoma in HIV-positive patients and a tendency towards an increased prevalence of rhabdomyosarcoma requires further investigation. Long-term studies to assess the influence of antiretroviral therapy on the prevalence and prognosis of these sarcomas are required.