Treatment of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome-related Kaposi's sarcoma with bleomycin as a single agent

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a form of malignant tumor characterized by multiple areas of cell overgrowth, initially affecting the skin but later developing in other body sites. The lesions may become sarcomatous, involving connective tissue such as bone and muscle. This particular malignancy is seen in 10 to 20 percent of AIDS patients, who more often die of infections than KS. The effectiveness and toxicity of the anticancer agent bleomycin in treating non-life-threatening Kaposi's sarcoma associated with AIDS were assessed in 60 afflicted patients. These patients had widespread and progressive Kaposi's sarcoma with symptoms affecting the entire body and a CD4 count of less than 400 per cubic millimeter, an index of poor immune function. Bleomycin was given into muscle in 30 patients and by slow continuous intravenous infusion in the remaining 30 patients. The average duration of treatment was five months. Bleomycin treatment resulted in some elimination of the tumors in 29 patients; it stabilized or prevented further progression of the cancer in 18 additional patients; and it had no effect in 21.6 percent of patients. Bleomycin was discontinued in two patients because of adverse side effects. These findings suggest that bleomycin may serve as a alternative treatment for AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)