Lassoued K, Clauvel J P, Katlama C, Janier M, Picard C, Matheron S
Service d'Immunohématologie et Immunopathologie, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris, France.
Cancer. 1990 Nov 1;66(9):1869-72. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19901101)66:9<1869::aid-cncr2820660903>3.0.co;2-s.
A nonrandomized trial was conducted to assess the efficiency and toxicity of bleomycin as a single agent in treatment of non-life-threatening AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Sixty patients were enrolled in this study. They all had a disseminated and progressive non-life-threatening AIDS-related KS associated with systemic symptoms and/or CD4 lymphocyte count less than 400/mm3. Thirty patients were treated with intramuscular bleomycin (5 mg/d for 3 days every 2 or 3 weeks) and 30 others with a slow continuous intravenous infusion of bleomycin (6 mg/m3/d for 4 days every 4 weeks). The mean duration of therapy was 5 months (range, 2 to 24 months). A partial response was observed in 29 patients (48.3%) and the disease was stabilized in 18 additional patients (30%). Bleomycin failed in 21.6% of patients. Therapy had to be discontinued in two patients because of side effects. Thus bleomycin as a single agent is a good alternative therapy for AIDS-related KS.
