Prevalence of Kaposi sarcoma in the United States: SEER cross-sectional study

Primary Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a rare cancer caused by human herpesvirus-8 that most often affects people with compromised immune systems. Since knowledge of the relationship between disease and sociodemographic factors contributes to the development of precision medicine, we investigated the prevalence of KS within the US population. Using SEER, we found that the Black population had the highest prevalence rate in 2018 compared to other racial groups. Prevalence peaked in the 50 to 54 and 55 to 59 age groups, with another peak in the 80 to 84 age group.