KS is not considered curable in any stage by any current treatment. Neither surgical removal of the first-detected lesion nor obtaining a complete remission of multiple sites with chemotherapy or other techniques results in cure.
Nevertheless, long-term survival does occur both with and without treatment. Survival in classic KS is usually years and sometimes decades. Some patients with AIDS-related KS are still alive 10 years into the epidemic, though most survive only a few years. Treatment decisions at this time are usually aimed at palliation.
New drugs are always being tried, however. Thought should be given to participation in clinical research programs in major medical centers and hospitals.
Surgery Surgical biopsy for microscopic examination of a suspicious lesion is needed to confirm the
diagnosis of KS. Sometimes more than one biopsy is needed. Once the diagnosis is made, biopsy of other lesions is usually not needed except in cases where a deep lesion—a lung tumor , for example—has to be evaluated.
Other than for a biopsy, surgery is not commonly used in KS treatment. Lesions in the gastrointestinal tract may uncommonly bleed or obstruct the passage of food and require surgical correction. Conventional surgery and lasers have been used to remove bulky lesions in the mouth. Removal of multiple skin lesions does little to provide any meaningful relief of symptoms.
