Quantitative assessment of tumor vasculature and response to therapy in Kaposi's sarcoma using functional noninvasive imaging

Abstract

Two noninvasive methods, thermography and laser Doppler imaging (LDI), were assessed for their ability to quantitatively assess parameters of vascularity in lesions of HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Thermography and LDI images of a representative KS lesion were recorded in 16 patients and compared to normal skin either adjacent to the lesion or on the contralateral side. Eleven of the 16 patients had greater than 0.5 °C increased temperature and 12 of the 16 patients had increased flux (measured by LDI) as compared to normal skin. There was a strong correlation between these two parameters (R = 0.81, p < 0.001). In ten patients, measurements were obtained prior to therapy and after receiving a regimen of liposomal doxorubicin and interleukin-12. After 18 weeks of therapy, temperature and blood flow of the lesions were significantly reduced from the baseline (p = 0.004 and 0.002 respectively). These techniques hold promise to assess physiologic parameters in KS lesions and their changes with therapy.