Browsing by Author "Casper, Corey"

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    Antiretroviral Therapy is Highly Effective Against Incident Hepatitis B Disease Acquisition Among HIV-Infected Adults in Rakai, Uganda
    (American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2016) Seremba, Emmanuel; Ssempijja, Victor; Kalibbala, Sarah; Gray, Ronald; Wawer, Maria; Nalugoda, Fred; Casper, Corey; Phipps, Warren T.; Ocama, Ponsiano; Thomas, David L.; Reynolds, Steven J.
    Co-infection with HepatitisB(HBV) and HIV iscommonin sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and accelerates progression of liver disease to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) andother complications. About 60% of HCC in Africa is attributed to HBV. In Uganda, 80% of HCC patients have HBVand20%have HIV/HBV coinfection.HCCis the 4th commonest cancer among Ugandan males and the 6th commonest in females. It is almost always a fatal malignancy in SSA. Prevention of HBV is best achieved through vaccination. Vaccination of HIV-infected adults for HBV is standard of care in developed countries but not in SSA where HBV is believed to be acquired in childhood and where there is lack of HBV incidence data. We investigated the incidence and risk factors associated with HBV among HIV-infected adults in Rakai, Uganda.
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    Clinical Presentation and Outcome of Epidemic Kaposi Sarcoma in Ugandan Children
    (Pediatric blood & cancer, 2010) Gantt, Soren; Kakuru, Abel; Wald, Anna; Walusansa, Victoria; Corey, Lawrence; Casper, Corey; Orem, Jackson
    Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is one of the most common pediatric cancers in sub-Saharan Africa. Few data are available about the clinical presentation or response to treatment of children with epidemic (HIV-associated) KS. Methods. Medical records of all children with KS and HIV infection referred to the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala, Uganda from October 2004 to June 2007 were reviewed. Charts were abstracted for age, sex, location of KS lesions at presentation, biopsy results, CD4 T-cell count and percentage, and KS treatment and outcome. Results. Seventy-three children with epidemic KS were identified, 37 males and 36 females. The median age was 10.1 years (range 2–18). KS presented with lymph node (LN) involvement in 60% of cases. The median absolute and percentage CD4 T-cells at presentation were 210 cells/ml and 7.4%, respectively. Those children with lymphadenopathic KS were younger (mean difference 3.7 years; P¼0.01) and had higher CD4 T-cell counts (mean difference 242 cells/ml; P¼0.03) than those without LN involvement. Of 32 patients for whom outcome data were available, a complete response to chemotherapy and/or antiretroviral therapy was documented in 20 (62.5%) patients. Conclusions. In comparison to cutaneous involvement, LN involvement of epidemic KS occurs at younger ages and at higher CD4 levels. This clinical presentation may reflect recent infection with human herpesvirus 8 followed by a rapid progression to malignancy. Favorable response to treatment was observed in the majority of cases, but prospective studies are needed to determine optimal management. Pediatr Blood Cancer