Article originalRadiothérapie du sarcome de Kaposi épidémique : l'expérience de l'hôpital Henri-Mondor (643 patients)

Radiation therapy of epidemic Kaposi sarcoma: the Henri Mondor hospital experience (643 patients). Purpose. — Retrospective analysis of results of radiotherapy in epidemic Kaposi sarcoma at the Henri-Mondor hospital. Material and methods. — From June 1986 to December 1996, 643 patients presenting with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related epidemic Kaposi's sarcome were treated with irradiation at the Oncology Department of Henri Mondor University Hospital. Three-hundred eighty-seven patients (60%) had previously received a treatment with interferon (259 patients, 40.2%), vinblastin (225 patients, 34.5%), doxorubicin (22 patients, 3.4%), bleomycine (19 patients, 2.9%), and/or antiviral treatment (216, 33.5%). The radiotherapy was delivered by 4 MeV or 8 MeV electron beam for extended cutaneous fields and 45–100 kV x-ray for localized fields. The delivered dose was 20 Gy in 2 weeks (2.5 Gy/fraction, 4 fractions/week) followed by 2 weeks rest and second series of 10 Gy in 1 week. For oral cavity lesions, we used a series of 15.2 Gy was delivered (1.9 Gy/fraction, 4 fractions/week), followed for three patients by a 3 week rest and by a similar second series of 15.2 Gy. Results. — Six-hundred and twenty-one patients were evaluable and the objective response rate was 92%, with a complete regression of clinical and functional symptoms for all patients. The skin tolerance was good, with 7.3% grade I reactions, 69.3% of grade II reactions, and 23.4% grade III reactions. There was a correlation between recurrence rate and the occurrence of opportunistic infections. Conclusion. — this analysis shows the efficacy of dose radiotherapy for treatment of epidemic Kaposi sarcoma.