Dose, Time and Volume Parameters in Irradiation Therapy of Kaposi's Sarcoma

In a recent review on the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma (Cohen, Palmer and Nickson, 1962), it appeared that there was relatively little information published on its radiosensitivity, and that reported methods of management varied widely and were often contradictory. It has, however, become possible, since the disease is of extraordinary frequency in Africa, to present the following analysis of a comparatively large irradiated series from which appropriate data can be extracted. The pathological and clinical features of this African series are described in detail by a number of investigators (U.I.C.C. Symposium on Kaposi's Sarcoma, 1962, in press); the present report deals with the radiosensitivity of the individual lesions and the tolerance limits of the associated normal tissues. Between 1949 and 1960, 58 cases of typical Kaposi's sarcoma were referred to the Radiation Therapy Department of the Johannesburg Hospital for therapy. Of these, 16 were lost to follow-up yielding no information on the length of remission, three cases received no more than minimal palliative treatment shortly before death from widespread cutaneous or visceral dissemination, and one patient was killed in a street accident after an initial remission, thus leaving 38 definitive cases available for analysis. All but three of these patients were males, the average age being 40 years (range five to 80).