Local Therapy KS is one of the few tumors that respond to local injections of chemotherapy . Many anticancer drugs cause intense local damage if they are accidentally injected into tissue . This undesirable side effect has been used in a positive way to treat KS skin lesions.
Diluted solutions of various drugs have been injected directly into the lesions using tiny needles. A small amount of inflammation may occur for a few days, but this is not usually painful. The lesions will often flatten and shrink so they look like freckles. They can stay this way for weeks or months before they recur.
Bleomycin , Oncovin and Velban are among the anticancer drugs used in this way. Velban is the most commonly used because of its relative cheapness and ease of use. Treatments are usually given weeks to months apart and are no more painful than any other injection would be. They will not permanently control the lesions, nor will they control lesions that have not been injected. There are no generalized side effects or bone marrow depression. These treatments are especially useful for cosmetically disturbing KS lesions, such as a lesion on the face.
Biological Therapy Immunologic treatment of KS is mainly a study of the effects of the
interferons , mainly alpha.
Other agents, especially interleukin-2, are being studied but there is not yet clear data on their effects. Patients interested in these biologic response modifiers should ask their doctors for more information.
