# Kaposi Sarcoma: Retrospective Clinical Analysis with a Focus on Age and HIV Serostatus

## TL;DR

This study analyzed Kaposi sarcoma cases to find age and HIV-related patterns, revealing significant differences in lesion locations and age cutoffs between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients.

## Contribution

The study is the first to show a significant higher prevalence of lower extremity lesions in HIV-negative patients and identify an age cutoff using ROC analysis.

## Key findings

- Lower extremity lesions were more common in HIV-negative patients (p = 0.005).
- Age 59 was identified as the optimal cutoff to distinguish HIV-positive from HIV-negative patients.
- Anti-HIV positivity was significantly higher in patients aged 59 and younger (p < 0.001).

## Abstract

Studying the incidence of Kaposi sarcoma in relation to key variables can guide targeted research and subtype-specific clinical interventions. We reviewed the records of all patients who visited our hospital’s dermatology outpatient clinic, and patients who were clinically and histopathologically diagnosed with Kaposi sarcoma were included in the study. The age, gender, lesion location, anti-HIV test results, and comorbidities of the patients were recorded. Thirty-three patients with Kaposi sarcoma were identified. The male/female ratio was 2.7:1. The Kaposi sarcoma lesions were statistically significantly more prevalent in the lower extremities of HIV-negative patients (p = 0.005). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified 59 years as the optimal age cutoff for distinguishing between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients. Anti-HIV positivity was significantly higher in individuals aged 59 and younger compared to those aged 60 and older (p < 0.001). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a statistically significant higher prevalence of lower extremity lesions among HIV-negative patients and to identify 59 years as the optimal age cutoff for distinguishing between HIV-positive and HIV-negative Kaposi sarcoma patients using ROC curve analysis. The age-related patterns observed in this study warrant further investigation.