Symptoms of Kaposi's Sarcoma

Kaposi's sarcoma

The most serious diseases that affect the human body are cancers. They are very progressive diseases and the majority of them can be cured only when they are detected in the early stages. The survival rate for many advanced cancers is very low. The optimal life expectancy is only a couple of years.

Kaposi’s sarcoma is a type of cancer that manifests through the appearance of red or purple patches on the skin, mouth or lungs, as well as on the liver or gastrointestinal tract. The virus that is responsible for occurrence of this cancer is called human herpes virus 8. When Kaposi’s sarcoma becomes very severe, then this disease is called AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

Types of Kaposi’s sarcoma

There are four types of this cancer: classic Kaposi’s sarcoma, African Kaposi’s sarcoma, immunosuppressive-treatment-related Kaposi's sarcoma and AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

Classic Kaposi’s sarcoma and African Kaposi’s sarcoma are very rare and slow growing skin tumors. In the majority of cases the male population is affected by these two types of Kaposi’s sarcoma.Those people who use immunosuppressive drugs after an organ transplant operation are at risk to develop immunosuppressive-treatment-related Kaposi's sarcoma. Therefore, the immunosuppressive medication should be changed or reduced in order to improve the condition.The people who have late-stage HIV/AIDS usually develop AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. This cancer is very aggressive and very quickly it affects the skin, lymph nodes, gastrointestinal tract and lungs, as well as liver and spleen.

Symptoms of Kaposi’s sarcoma

The most obvious symptoms of this type of cancer are red or purple patches or plaques that can be noticed on the skin. They may look as bruises. In the first three types of Kaposi’s sarcoma that are mentioned above, these skin lesions usually develop gradually over years. When the cancer progresses, the legs become swollen and the cancer spreads and invades the other organs.

AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma is a very severe cancer that rapidly progresses and tends to form masses that look like tumors. In the beginning, the skin lesions are soft and spongy but eventually, they become solid and hard. Furthermore, the open ulcers may appear and they usually get infected. When the cancer invades other organs, especially the lungs, the person who has this condition may experience problems with breathing, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. In the majority of cases, when the cancer affects the lungs, the respiratory failure occurs and the death occurs. When the gastrointestinal tract is affected by the cancer, vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain usually appear as the symptoms.