Without HAART, KS is associated with severe morbidity, high mortality and a life expectancy of < 6 months [5-7]. However, HAART has changed the natural history of AIDS-associated KS in industrialized countries since its introduction more than a decade ago. For HIV-infected individuals with KS in industrialized countries, HAART results in the regression of the size and number of existing lesions [8, 9]. At the population level, the use of HAART has been associated with a decreased proportion of new

AIDS-related cancers, with a 30–50% reduction in KS incidence in both the USA and Europe [10]. Most studies examining the clinical effects Selleckchem Trametinib of HAART on KS have come from high-income countries and from clinic cohorts where protease inhibitor (PI)-based regimens predominated The clinical effects of HAART on AIDS-associated KS in African countries, where programmes primarily use nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based therapy, is not known. To address this question we analysed data collected from individuals with HIV infection receiving NNRTI-based antiretroviral therapy in rural

Uganda as part of a randomized clinical trial [11]. We examined factors associated with the diagnosis of KS at baseline and during follow-up and determined which factors were associated with mortality among patients with KS. The Home-Based AIDS Care see more (HBAC) programme was a clinical trial of three different monitoring strategies for patients receiving HAART in rural Uganda. Clients of The AIDS Support Organization, a local HIV/AIDS care and support organization in the Tororo and Busia districts, were invited for assessment of HAART eligibility. Individuals with a CD4 T lymphocyte cell count ≤ 250 cells/μL or World Health Organization (WHO) stage III or IV disease (excluding isolated pulmonary tuberculosis) were provided with antiretroviral therapy. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three

monitoring arms: (1) quarterly CD4 cell count and viral load (VL) testing, with weekly home visits by a trained lay person for clinical monitoring using a standard symptom questionnaire; (2) quarterly CD4 cell count Vasopressin Receptor testing and clinical monitoring with weekly home visits; or (3) clinical monitoring with weekly home visits only. Participants also received cotrimoxazole prophylaxis, HIV prevention education and treatment for tuberculosis (TB) and other infectious illnesses as warranted. The first-line HAART regimen was stavudine, lamivudine and either nevirapine or efavirenz. Treatment guidelines allowed patients to be switched to a second-line regimen if immunological, virological or clinical signs of failure occurred, as appropriate to their assigned HAART monitoring arm. The study was approved by the Science and Ethics Committee of the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the Institutional Review Board of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.