The Great Condom Debate

[PaulKing]

Interesting New York Times article: -

RARE CANCER SEEN IN 41 HOMOSEXUALS
Outbreak Occurs Among Men in New York and California
-8 Died Inside 2 Years
by Lawrence K. Altman

Doctors in New York and California have diagnosed among homosexual
men 41 cases of a rare and often rapidly fatal form of cancer. Eight of the
victims died less than 24 months after the diagnosis was made.
The cause of the outbreak is unknown, and there is as yet no evidence of
contagion. But the doctors who have made the diagnoses, mostly in New York City and the San Francisco Bay area, are alerting other physicians who treat large numbers of homosexual men to the problem in an effort to help identify more cases and to reduce the delay in offering chemotherapy treatment.
The sudden appearance of the cancer, called Kaposi’s Sarcoma, has prompted a medical investigation that experts say could have as much scientific as public health importance because of what it may teach about determining the causes of more common types of cancer.

First Appears in Spots
Doctors have been taught in the past that the cancer usually
appeared
first in spots on the legs and that the disease took a slow course of
up to 10
years. But these recent cases have shown that it appears in one or more
violet-colored spots anywhere on the body. The spots generally do not
itch or cause
other symptoms, often can be mistaken for bruises, sometimes appear
as lumps
and can turn brown after a period
of time . The cancer often causes swollen lymph glands and then kills
by
spreading throughout the body.
Doctors investigating the outbreak believe that many cases have gone
undetected because of the rarity of the condition and the difficulty even
dermatologists may have in diagnosing it.
In a letter alerting other physicians to the problem, Dr. Alvin E. Friedman-Kien of New York University Medical Center, one of the
investigators, described the appearance of the outbreak as “rather devastating.”
Dr. Friedman-Kien said in an interview yesterday that he knew of 41
cases collated in the last five weeks, with the cases themselves dating to
the past 30 months. The Federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta is
expected to publish the first description of the outbreak in its weekly report
today, according to a spokesman,
Dr. James Curran. The report notes 26 of the cases-20 in New York and
six in California.
There is no national registry of cancer victims, but the nationwide
incidence of Kaposi’s Sarcoma in the past had been estimated by the
Centers for Disease Control to be less than six-one-hundreds of a case per 100,000
people annually, or about two cases in every three million people. However,
the disease accounts for up to 9 percent of all cancers in a belt across equatorial
Africa, where it commonly affects children and young adults.
In the United States, it has primarily affected men older than 50 years:
But in the recent cases, doctors at nine medical centers in New York and seven
hospitals in California have been diagnosing the condition among younger men, all of
whom said in the course of standard diagnostic interviews that they were
homosexual. Although the ages of the patients have ranged from 26 to 51
years, many have been under 40, with the mean at 39.
Nine of the 41 cases known to Dr. Friedman-Kien were diagnosed in
California, and several of those victims reported that they had been in
New York in the period preceding the diagnosis. Dr. Friedman-Kien said that his
colleagues were checking on reports of two victims diagnosed in Copenhagen, one of
whom had visited New York.Viral Infections Indicated
No one medical investigator has yet interviewed all the victims, Dr. Curran said. According to Dr. Friedman Kien, the reporting doctors said that most cases had involved homosexual men who have had multiple and frequent sexual encounters with different partners, as many as 10 sexual encounters each night up to four timesa week.
Many of the patients have also been treated for viral infections such as
herpes, cytomegalovirus and hepatitis B as well as parasitic infections such as amebiasis and giardiasis. Many patients also reported that they had used drugs
such as amyl nitrite and LSD to heighten sexual pleasure.
Cancer is not believed to be contagious, but conditions that might precipitate it, such as particular viruses or environmental factors, might account for an outbreak among a single group.
The medical investigators say some indirect evidence actually points away
from contagion as a cause. None of the patients knew each other, although the
theoretical possibility that some may have had sexual contact with a
person with Kaposi’s Sarcoma at some point in thepast could not be excluded,
Dr. Friedman-Kien said.
Dr. Curran said there was no apparent danger to non homosexuals from
contagion. “The best evidence against contagion,” he said, “is that no
cases have been reported to date outside the homosexual community or in women.”
Dr. Friedman-Kien said he had tested nine of the victims and found
severe defects in their immunological systems. The patients had serious
malfunctions of two types of cells called T and B cell lymphocytes, which have
important roles in fighting infections and cancer.
But Dr. Friedman-Kien emphasized that the researchers did not know
whether the immunological defects were the underlying problem or had
developed secondarily to the infections or drug use.
The research team is testing various hypotheses, one of which is a
possible link between past infection with cytomegalovirus and development of Kaposi’s Sarcoma.


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What this article fails to mention is that all the men involved said they used condoms on a regular basis. As cancer in not an std this is the only common factor.

[fsuguy69]

True....but don't you think if it was just regular condom usage that it would also affect heterosexual men as well? I'll give you most of your other posts, but this one seems little like a stretch to me...

[OhioCouple]

Fsuguy69, I don't think it is too far fetched to believe that the homosexual community is under more scrutiny and studied more in depth than the hetrosexuals. After all, research is looking for the common causes of AIDS and ever since the early eighties it has pointed towards drug users and homosexuals.

I stated in another thread that I had a friend that succumed to AIDS. He died within 1 year of being diagnosed. Outwardly, he showed no signs other than having lost weight and he also said that he always had practiced safe sex. He passed away at the age of 32. His final 6 months were spent in a test study group, with the final three weeks in a hospice ward which specifically housed AIDS patients (This was in 1993) In return, he received anonymity and his final weeks were covered by private contributions.

I highly doubt that you'll find that sort of research going on for hetrosexuals that are diagnosed with cancer or for that matter even AIDS, but then I am no expert.

[ashki2374]

what is the date on this article, my guess would be around 1980. Kaposi's sarcoma is one of the primary infections that people suffering AIDS would contract in the early years. This article mentions immune system abnormalities with some problem with the T-cells.

I think you're working with out dated materials here.

[PaulKing]

The reason why gay men are at greater danger, is that anal sex is far more likely to cause blood transmission and the tissue is more permeable.

The increase in heterosexual (condom related) cancers is nearly as dramatic but statistics are far harder to come by.

Latex allergy deaths were only recorded for one year and in that year totaled 143. Even AIDS stats are only recorded in 39 States and the data is different from State to State. The CDC bases it's figures on those States and than multiplies the results by three to account for the others.

Best wishes,

Paul