Recruiting
Phase 2

KICS Observational Study

Sponsor:

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Code:

NCT01419561

Conditions

KSHV Inflammatory Cytokine Syndrome (KICS)

KSHV

HHV-8

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Zidovudine

Liposomal Doxorubicin

Valganiclovir

Rituximab

Standard Therapies

Study Details

Brief summary:

Background:

\- KSHV inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS) is a newly recognized disease caused by Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). This virus can cause cancer. People with KICS can have severe symptoms. They include fever, weight loss, and fluid in the legs or abdomen. People with KICS may also be at risk of getting other cancers associated with KSHV. These cancers include Kaposi sarcoma and lymphoma. Because KICS is a newly identified disease, more information is needed on how the disease works and what can be done to treat it.

Objectives:

\- To collect genetic and medical information from people with KSHV inflammatory cytokine syndrome.

Eligibility:

\- Individuals at least 18 years of age who have Kaposi sarcoma herpes virus and symptoms that resemble those caused by KICS.

Design:

  • Participants will have regular study visits. The schedule will be determined by the study researchers.
  • Participants will provide a complete medical history and have a full physical exam. Blood and urine samples will be collected as well.
  • People with KICS that requires treatment may get new experimental treatments. These treatments may include antiviral drugs and chemotherapy drugs, depending on the nature of the disease.
  • Participants will have imaging studies, such as chest x-rays and computed tomography scans, to study the tumors.
  • Bone marrow and lymph node biopsies may be done to collect tissue samples for study.
  • Participants who have Kaposi sarcoma will have photographs taken of their lesions....

Conditions

KSHV Inflammatory Cytokine Syndrome (KICS)

KSHV

HHV-8

Study ID

NCT01419561

Start date

Sep 8, 2011

Status verified date

Aug 21, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:
  • Age greater than or equal to18 Years.
  • Any HIV status.
  • At least two manifestations drawn from at least two of the categories (clinical symptoms, laboratory abnormalities and/or radiographic abnormalities), which are at least possibly attributable to KICS and are not readily explicable from known medical conditions in the participant:
  • Clinical symptoms (each at least grade 1 by CTCAE definitions)
  • Fever (>38 degrees C), chills or rigors
  • Fatigue or lethargy
  • Cachexia or edema
  • Cough, dyspnea, airway hyperreactivity, or nasal inflammation
  • Nausea, anorexia, abdominal pain or altered bowel habit
  • Athralgia or myalgia
  • Altered mental state
  • Neuropathy with or without pain
  • Laboratory abnormalities
  • Anemia (hemoglobin<12.0g/dL)
  • Thrombocytopenia (platelets<100,000 cells/microL)
  • Leukopenia (white cell count<4,000 cells/microL)
  • Hypoalbuminemia (albumin<3.5g/dL)
  • Hyponatremia (sodium<135mmol/L)
  • Coagulopathy (PT or PTT >1.5 times upper limit of normal)
  • Radiographic abnormalities
  • Pathologic lymphadenopathy (at least five discrete nodes each >1cm in their longest dimension)
  • Splenomegaly (>12 cm in the longest dimension)
  • Hepatomegaly (>17cm in the longest dimension)
  • Body cavity effusions not caused by primary effusion lymphoma nor chylous effusions directly related to lymphatic infiltration by KS
  • C-reactive protein (CRP) >3mg/L.
  • Exposure risk for KSHV infection (including being a first or second generation immigrant from an endemic area, or male-to-male sexual activity) or evidence of KSHV infection demonstrated by one of:

  • Molecular evidence of KSHV in whole blood, or KSHV VL levels within circulating PBMCs as determined by the Whitby laboratory
  • Immunohistochemical evidence of KSHV in tissues (for example by staining for LANA or vIL-6) confirmed in the Laboratory of Pathology (LP), CCR, NCI.
  • Presence of KS or PEL (KSHV-associated malignancies), confirmed in the LP, CCR, NCI.
  • Women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP) and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry, for the duration of study participation, and after treatment (if received), according to drug requirements. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

\- Biopsy proven KSHV-associated MCD, confirmed in the LP, CCR, NCI.

Note: In collaboration with LP, we have recently found that some participants with KICS but without a lymph node or splenic diagnosis of MCD have MCD-like cells in their effusions or circulating blood. This may in fact represent a newly recognized form of KSHV-MCD, but our analysis continues. While certain of these participants were historically included in this study, given this new understanding, they will not be entered on this protocol and removed if liquid MCD is diagnosed.

  • Pregnancy
  • Any abnormality that would be scored as NCI CTC Grade 4 toxicity that is unrelated to HIV, its treatment, or to KICS that would preclude the use of all of the study treatments or the ability to monitor the natural history of KICS untreated.
  • Any condition or set of circumstances that in the opinion of the investigators would make participation in this study unsafe or otherwise inappropriate for a given individual.

Study Design

Enrollment

140 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

no intervention: 1

Evaluation for Alternative Causes of KICS Symptoms (inactive)

no intervention: 2

Natural history/Observation arm (inactive)

experimental: 3

High dose zidovudine + valganciclovir (inactive)

experimental: 4

Rituximab with or without liposomal doxorubicin (inactive)

other: 5

Standard and alternative rational therapies (inactive)

other: 6

Natural history

Interventions

Zidovudine

Zidovudine 600 mg will be administered orally 4 times a day or i.v. at 300 mg every 6 hours for 14 days for cycle 1 and for 7 days (up to additional 7 days if ongoing symptoms) for following cycles.

Liposomal Doxorubicin

Liposomal doxorubicin (20 mg/m2) will be administered i.v. over 1 hour at day 1 of each cycle

Valganiclovir

Valganciclovir (900mg) will be administered orally twice/day or Ganciclovir (5 mg/kg) will be administered i.v. over 1 hour for 14 days for cycle 1 and for 7 days (up to additional 7 days if ongoing symptoms) for following cycles.

Rituximab

Rituximab (375 mg/m2) will be admnistered i.v. at 50 mg/hr up to 100 mg/hr at day 1 of the first cycle and at 100mg/hr up to 400 mg

/hr at day 1 of following cycles.

Standard Therapies

Standard of Care drugs

Cohort 1

Participants who are infected with KSHV who meet criteria for inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS)

Primary outcome measure

  • Natural history of KICS [ Time Frame: one year ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Recruiting

Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892

More Information

Sponsor

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Last update posted

Sep 8, 2026

Last verified

Aug 21, 2026

Keywords

  • KSHV
  • KICS
  • HIV
  • Cytokines
  • HHV-8

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by National Cancer Institute (NCI) on 2026-09-08.