Richard F. Little, MD, MPH

A dramatic spike in the incidence of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) in never-married men in New York and California in 1981 was one of the first indications of a new disease now known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We now appreciate a number of mechanisms by which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection contributes to the pathogenesis of these tumors. The article by Drs. Gates and Kaplan provides an excellent review of changes in the epidemiology, presentation, and treatment of these tumors since the development of potent combination anti-HIV therapy.

Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Several characteristics of KS pose challenges for the conduct of clinical trials. Kaposi’s