International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 20, Number 8 > Pp. 553-556

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Mosam, A Articles by Coovadia, H M PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Original research articles

Increasing incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma in black South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (1983–2006)

A Mosam MBChB MMed (Derm) ^* , H Carrara BSc MPH , F Shaik MBChB MClin Farm ^* , T Uldrick MD MS  , A Berkman MD  , J Aboobaker FRCP PhD ^* and H M Coovadia MSc MD ^**

^* Department of Dermatology, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa; Columbia University – South Africa Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program, Durban, South Africa; Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA; ^** Victor Daitz Chair of HIV Research, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, Nelson Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Correspondence to: Dr A Mosam, Department of Dermatology, Rm 327 3rd Floor Medical School, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X 7, Congella 4013, Durban, South Africa Email: mosama{at}ukzn.ac.za

The aim of the study was to describe the temporal trends in the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in black South Africans in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The study was designed as a retrospective record review. The incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma was estimated using administrative records for patients receiving care for KS through public sector oncology clinics in KZN, 1983–2006. Annual age-standardized incidence rates were calculated using provincial census data for the denominator. Age-specific rates were calculated for the pre-AIDS (1983–1989) and for the generalized AIDS epidemic eras (2006). Age-standardized incidence of KS increased in KZN from <1:100,000 in 1990 to at least 15:100,000 in 2006; this increase was observed in both men and women. There was a shift in the peak age-specific incidence rates from the sixth decade of life in the pre-AIDS era to the fourth and fifth decades in the AIDS era. In conclusion, KS is a growing public health problem in KZN, South Africa. These data reinforce the need for comprehensive national access to and roll-out of antiretroviral drugs, given their success in prevention and treatment of KS in first-world settings.

Key Words: Kaposi's sarcoma • AIDS • epidemiology • incidence • South Africa • KwaZulu-Natal

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?