Anti-HIV drugs

Most people with Aids-related Kaposi's sarcoma will be offered treatment with anti-HIV drugs (antiretroviral therapy). A combination of some of the antiretroviral drugs (usually three or more) will usually be used. To be effective, antiretroviral drugs need to be taken every day, often for the rest of your life. Your doctor will discuss the benefits and possible side effects with you if they are appropriate in your situation.

These drugs can stop the HIV virus from multiplying inside the cells that it has affected, and can stop the virus from infecting other cells. This reduces the amount of HIV in the body and limits the damage that the virus can do to the immune system. In many cases, antiretroviral therapy alone can control KS, although this may take many months.

There are different types of anti-HIV drugs. Commonly used types are:

• Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) such as abacavir (ABC), didanosine (ddI), emtricitabine lamiduvine (3TC), stavudine (d4T), and zidovuvine (AZT)
• Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NtRTIs) such as tenofovir (TFV)
• Protease inhibitors (PIs) such as amprenavir, atazanavir, indinavir, lopinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, and saquinavir
• Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) such as efavirenz and nevirapine
• Other antiretrovirals such as enfuvirtide.

You can get more information about anti-HIV treatment from some of the specialist HIV and Aids organisations|.