Resolution of symptoms indicates that treatment is effective. Side effects diminish over time. Visible improvement of KS takes many weeks and improvement can continue over many months. Motrin can help with side effects. High fluid intake during initial treatment helps reduce nausea and dehydration.
Chemotherapy is limited by the already depressed immune system.
Since KS is such a rare disease in the U.S. and is usually treated initially with radiotherapy, few patients have been treated with chemotherapy and no randomized, prospective trials have compared one agent to another. Commonly employed chemotherapeutic agents include vinblastine, vincristine, doxorubicin, etoposide, and bleomycin. Single agents are used initially, however, as the disease progresses, combination therapy is required. In order to counteract leukopenia, doses of vinblastine need to be titrated to maintain a WBC count above approximately 3000. Many patients have lymph node and gastrointestinal tract involvement, which also responds well to vinblastine.