Once weekly total and subtotal skin electron beam therapy for Kaposi's sarcoma

Although Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) usually appears with solitary skin lesions, in a large percentage of these patients the disease progresses eventually to involve large extensive segments of the skin. In the past, the most frequently used approach is the irradiation of isolated lesions as they arose, hence the so-called "chasing technique." Since 1971, a technique of once weekly total skin electron beam therapy (TSEB) has been employed at Memorial Hospital for mycosis fungoides and other cutaneous malignancies involving large areas of the body. Four hundred rads once weekly for six to eight consecutive weeks are delivered to the entire skin surface by employing a 3.5 MeV electron beam. Twenty patients with KS treated by this technique have been followed for 12--98 months, median 48 months. Overall response is 100%; 17/20 (85%) obtained complete remission lasting 10--92 months, (median 48 months).