Maybin Kalubula
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Title: Epidemiology of Kaposi’s sarcoma and the impact of HIV on the 1970 – 1979 generation in Zambia
Biography
Biography: Maybin Kalubula
Abstract
Background
Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is the most prevalent HIV and AIDS-associated cancer worldwide. Zambia has been considered as part of the “KS belt”, where endemic KS has been prevalent. This study sought to assess the burden of Kaposi’s sarcoma and treatment modalities in Zambia from 2007 to 2014 and to identify major risk generations in the era of HIV.
Methods
A Time Series Cross Sectional (TSCS) study nested on the Zambia National Cancer Registry (ZNCR) histopathological and clinical Kaposi’s sarcoma data was conducted after ethical clearance from the Zambia National Research Authority. Central Statistics Office (CSO) demographic data were used to determine the prevalence and Age-specific rates while World Standard Population was used to determine Standardised Incidence Rate (SIR) and Standardised Mortality Rate (SMR). Our sample was 2521 (n = 2521). We used Graph Pad Prism version 7.04 and SPSS version 21 in our data analyses.
Results
KS has been highly prevalent in Lusaka, Central and Eastern Provinces of Zambia. It has also been more prevalent in males than in females with Mean distribution of 18.99 in males and 12.14 in females and 95% CI of 12.56 – 25.42 and 8.41 – 15.87 respectively. SIR was 22.97 per 100,000 population with 95% CI of 21.99 – 23.95. This study established a strong positive association between Kaposi’s sarcoma and HIV positive Kaposi’s sarcoma with p- value of
0.000. The 1970 – 1979 generation has been the most affected by KS. SMR was 122 with 92.9% of KS deaths occurring in HIV positive patients. The combination of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy (62.9%) has been the most commonly used treatment modality in Zambia.
Conclusions
The high prevalence of KS in Zambia is as a result of the high prevalence of HIV. There is a need for a revised treatment strategy that would integrate nanoparticle therapeutics in the KS treatment scheme in Zambia. The identified two key intervention points for the reduction of KS morbidity are; the HIV infection point and improving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) services. HIV health education for the youths should be intensified to create a strong HIV primary barrier which would result in a possibly future HIV free generation thereby reducing KS.