# Project 2: Clinical and molecular determinants of HIV-associated Kaposi Sarcoma progression under local standard-of-care therapy in Malawi and South Africa

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2022 · $184,511

## Abstract

ABSTRACT: PROJECT 2. Clinical and molecular determinants of HIV-associated Kaposi Sarcoma
progression under local standard-of-care therapy in Malawi and South Africa
This application seeks to establish the UNC-Malawi-South Africa Cancer Consortium (UMSACC). It responds
to RFA-CA-20-001 and will establish a research center to develop capacity and conduct high-impact research
focused on
HIV-Associated Malignancy in U.S. and Low- and Middle-Income Country. Project 2 - Kaposi
Sarcoma builds on longstanding collaborations between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Lighthouse Trust / Kamuzu Central Hospital in Malawi, and Stellenbosch University / Tygerberg Hospital in
South Africa. This project has participation of investigators from all three countries: the US, Malawi and South
Africa. UMSACC will establish and maintain core that support mentoring, administration, pathology and
analyses jointly across three projects. Kaposi sarcoma is by far the most common cancer in people living in
with HIV in Sub Saharan Africa and the US standard of care, liposomal doxorubicin, is not affordable or
available in the public sector. Building on recent randomized clinical trials by the AIDS malignancy Consortium
and the AIDS clinical trials group, we will document the experience with paclitaxel/ cART as new first line
therapy in HIV-KS and seek to develop prognostic biomarkers of the disease, such as KSHV viral load, IL6,
KSHV sequence variants and KSHV transcription.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10434864
- **Project number:** 5U54CA254564-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Dirk P Dittmer
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $184,511
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-13 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10434864

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10434864, Project 2: Clinical and molecular determinants of HIV-associated Kaposi Sarcoma progression under local standard-of-care therapy in Malawi and South Africa (5U54CA254564-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10434864. Licensed CC0.

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