Outlook in oral and cutaneous Kaposiʹs sarcoma

We looked at survival of 138 patients with HIV-1-associated Kaposiʹs sarcoma. Patients with lesions of the oral mucosa had a higher death rate (risk ratio 3·4 [95% CI 1·6–7·1]; p=0·001) than those having exclusively cutaneous manifestations of the disease. Patients with oral Kaposiʹs sarcoma and a CD4 cell count of at least 150/μL had a similar mortality risk to patients with the cutaneous disease but CD-4 cell concentration of no more than 150/μL. Thus, oral Kaposiʹs sarcoma is an important prognostic marker, at least for patients who do not receive triple antiretroviral therapy.