AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, July 18, 2005
Staff Medical Writers

"Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a potentially life-threatening multifocal neoplasm. Despite the significant decline in the incidence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related KS with the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), some patients, even those with a good immune restoration, still have aggressive disease," researchers in France report.

"Liposomal anthracyclines or combination chemotherapy is widely used but adverse effects limit their utilization. We studied the efficacy and tolerance of docetaxel in the treatment of AIDS-related KS after pretreatment with anthracycline. A retrospective cohort study was done.

"Nine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients were treated from 1997 to 2002 with docetaxel. Tumor response was evaluated using the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) staging criteria. Clinical and biological toxicity was evaluated. AIDS status with HIV viral load and CD4 T-cell count were measured at the beginning and at the end of the treatment," wrote J. Autier and colleagues at the Assitance Public Hop Paris.

"A major (complete or partial) response and a stabilization of the disease were demonstrated in seven and two patients, respectively. Grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were observed in four of nine and one of nine patients, respectively. One patient died after sepsis," the authors said.

Investigators concluded, "Docetaxel has a good and rapid efficacy in anthracycline-pretreated patients with severe AIDS-related KS. Phase II/III trials should be done to compare docetaxel with liposomal anthracyclines as a first-line treatment."

Autier and colleagues published their study in British Journal of Dermatology (Docetaxel in anthracycline-pretreated AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma: a retrospective study. Br J Dermatol. 2005 May;152(5):1026-9.

For additional information, contact M. Grossin, Assitance Publ Hop Paris, Hop Bichat Claude Bernard, Dept. Dermatology, 46 Rue Henri Huchard, F-75018 Paris, France.

Publisher contact information for the British Journal of Dermatology is: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Rd., Oxford OX4 2DG, Oxon, England.

Keywords: Paris, France, Docetaxel, AIDS-Related Kaposi sarcoma, Anthracycline Pretreatment, Drug Efficacy.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

Reference

Autier J, Picard-Dahan C, Marinho E, et al., Docetaxel in anthracycline-pretreated AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma: a retrospective study, Br J Dermatol. 2005 May;152(5):1026-9.

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