Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common cancer among HIV-infected individuals. It is associated with a virus called Human Kaposi's Sarcoma Virus (HKSV), which can affect people with a weakened immune system such as those with HIV and AIDS. A less common form of KS can also affect individuals immunosuppressed by causes other than HIV.
KS differs from other types of cancer in the way it develops. Unlike most cancers, which start in one place and may then spread around the body, KS can appear in several parts of the body simultaneously. The most common site for KS is on the skin but it may also affect internal organs, particularly the lymph nodes, the lungs and organs of the digestive system. Since the early 1980s the aggressive form of KS has occurred in at least a third of patients with AIDS. Unlike other AIDS-related cancers, KS rarely involves the central nervous system.
There are four main types of KS. Classic KS is very rare and develops without any known cause. It is usually found in older men of Mediterranean or Jewish descent. Endemic or African KS is found in parts of equatorial Africa. The third type of KS is also rare and often occurs in patients with a weakened or damaged immune system, such as those taking drugs to suppress the immune system following organ transplants. It is not related to HIV.
AIDS-related KS is the most common and most rapidly developing form of the disease. During the normal course of AIDS, the immune system becomes weaker, rendering the infected individual more susceptible to developing KS.
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