Cancer Burden among People Infected with HIV Changing in U.S. || NCI Cancer Bulletin for April 19, 2011 - National Cancer Institute

April 19, 2011 • Volume 8 / Number 8|
Cancer Burden among People Infected with HIV Changing in U.S.

The number of cancers not traditionally associated with AIDS rose sharply between 1991 and 2005 among people living with HIV. Among contributing factors, the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the mid-1990s greatly prolonged survival for people living with HIV. As more of these people reach ages at which cancer risk increases, the number of these cancers is likely to continue to rise, Dr. Meredith Shiels of NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) and her colleagues reported online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on April 11.

The researchers collected data from the ongoing HIV/AIDS Cancer Match Study, which links 15 U.S. cancer registries and HIV registries, and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) AIDS registries, which monitor the number of people living with AIDS in all 50 states.

The researchers found that though the number of people living with AIDS rose from 96,179 in 1991 to 413,080 in 2005, the estimated number of “AIDS-defining cancers” (that is, Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and cervical cancer) fell in most age groups, from 34,587 cancers during 1991-1995 to 10,325 cancers during 2001-2005. (A diagnosis of any one of these cancers can mark the point at which HIV infection has progressed to AIDS, which is why doctors call them “AIDS-defining.”)

In contrast, the estimated number of other cancers among the study subjects living with HIV nearly tripled, from 3,193 during 1991-1995 to 10,059 during 2001-2005. New cases of anal, liver, and lung cancers and Hodgkin lymphoma accounted for about half of the increase.

The authors proposed that the growing number of non-AIDS-defining cancers will require greater attention to cancer prevention and early detection among HIV-infected people. In addition, they stated, more research is needed to appropriately tailor cancer treatments to people with HIV. “As the HIV-infected population in the United States continues to grow and age, cancer will emerge as an important public health issue,” concluded the paper’s senior author, Dr. Eric A. Engels of DCEG

NCI Cancer Bulletin for April 19, 2011 - National Cancer Institute