The Pattern of Pediatric Solid Malignant Tumors in Western Kenya, East Africa, 1979?1994: An Analysis Based on Histopathologic Study

This study analyzed histopathologic specimens of 600 pediatric solid malignant tumors seen during the period 1979?1994 at the histopathology laboratories of the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital in Nakuru, the Nyanza Provincial General Hospital in Kisumu, and the Uasin Gishu Hospital in Eldoret in western Kenya. The crude incidence rate of each malignancy per 100,000 children per year was calculated. The patterns of malignancies were examined with a focus on tumor incidence, age, sex, geographic, and ethnic distribution to relate the tumors to putative environmental and genetic causative factors. The six common tumors were Burkitt\u27s lymphoma (33.5%), non-Hodgkin\u27s lymphoma (21.8%), retinoblastoma (11.5%), Kaposi\u27s sarcoma (6.1%), nephroblastoma (4.5%), and Hodgkin\u27s disease (4.1%). Significantly high crude incidence rates for lymphomas and Kaposi\u27s sarcoma showed a characteristic ethnogeographic distribution. The majority of the tumors were found concentrated around Lake Victoria and showed decreasing occurrence as one moved towards the semi-arid and highland areas. We concluded that environmental factors seem to play a major role in childhood tumors in western Kenya

Short Report: Herpes-Like DNA Sequences in African-Endemic and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-Associated Kaposi\u27s Sarcoma

Recently, the unique nucleic acid closely related to the herpes-like sequences has been found in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated Kaposi\u27s sarcoma (KS). We have confirmed the presence of herpes-like DNA sequences in six cases of AIDS-associated KS and three of the nine cases of African-endemic KS in adults, but not in eight cases of KS in children from the same area. These sequences were seen in a histologically early stage of KS. Our results suggest that herpes-like DNA sequences may play an important role in the pathogenesis of AIDS-associated KS