Weekly paclitaxel treatment in the first-line therapy of classic Kaposi sarcoma: A real-life study

• Published in: Medicine (Baltimore) Vol. 102; no. 5; p. e32866
• Main Authors: Paksoy, Nail, Khanmammadov, Nijat, Doğan, İzzet, Ferhatoğlu, Ferhat, Ahmed, Melin Aydan, Karaman, Sule, Aydiner, Adnan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 03.02.2023
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Observational Study; Paclitaxel - therapeutic use; Retrospective Studies; Sarcoma, Kaposi - complications; Skin Neoplasms - drug therapy
• ISSN: 0025-7974; 1536-5964
• DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000032866

Kaposi sarcoma is an angioproliferative disease associated with human herpes virus 8 infection. Classic Kaposi sarcoma (CKS) usually develops in older age. Although CKS often does not require systemic therapy, systemic therapy can be administered in progressively symptomatic patients. In this real-life study, we purposed to determine effectiveness and safety of weekly paclitaxel therapy in the first-line treatment of CKS. In this cross-sectional retrospective study, we analyzed the clinical data of 44 patients with CKS who received first-line paclitaxel therapy between January 2000 and December 2020. Paclitaxel was administered by intravenous infusion 80 to 100 mg/weekly. The median age of the patients was 67 years (range, 39-86 years), and majority male (77.2%). All patients had cutaneous involvement in extremities. The median follow-up time from paclitaxel treatment was 39.1 (range, 3.7-173.5) months. The median progression free survival from start of therapy was 35.1 months (range, 2-144 months). Complete response, partial response and stable disease were observed in 7 (15.9%), 28 (63.7%) and 6 (13.6) patients, respectively. Objective control rate was 79.6%, and the median response time after the last dose of paclitaxel was 18.2 months. A total of 4 patients (9.1%) had grade 3 to 4 neutropenia, but it was not complicated by febrile neutropenia. Three patients (6.8%) experienced grade 3 to 4 peripheral neuropathy. No patient had grade 3 to 4 allergic reaction. There was no drug-related death. According to our results, paclitaxel is an effective therapy option with an acceptable safety profile for patients with advanced CKS.