Cancer in the Hiv-Infected Population (Data Review‪)‬

Cancer is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in people infected with HIV; (1) in tact 30% to 40% will develop a malignancy during their lifetime. (2) The majority of cancers affecting HIV-positive people are those established as AIDS-defining: Kaposi's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and invasive cervical cancer. (3,4) However, other types of cancer also appear to be more common among those infected with HIV. While not classified as AIDS-defining, these malignancies are affecting the HIV/AIDS community greatly and have been referred to as "AIDS-associated malignancies" (1,5) or "opportunistic" cancers. (2) Analyses have revealed a 2- to 3-fold increase in overall risk of developing these cancers. (3,5,6) The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has resulted in decreased mortality and morbidity, (7) and the majority of people in developed countries infected with HIV are living with only mild to moderate immunosuppression because of wide access to antiretroviral therapy. (8) However, has the widespread use of these medications altered the incidence of cancer or perhaps even increased the prevalence of some types of cancer in this population? This article will present an overview of AIDS-defining malignancies and other malignancies that ate prevalent in the HIV-positive population, in addition, the effect of HAART on the incidence of these malignancies will be discussed. AIDS-DEFINING CANCERS