AIDS and non-AIDS-related malignancies: a new vexing challenge in HIV-positive patients. Part I: Kaposi's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

HIV-infected patients are at an increased risk for developing cancers. Three, in particular, are considered to be AIDS-defining malignancies: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and cervical cancer. Other non-AIDS-defining malignancies have been reported in the setting of HIV infection as having an increased frequency compared with their incidence in the general population. One of those most frequently reported is Hodgkin's disease. As with KS and NHL, the problem of diagnosing and treating immunocompromised patients with cancer represents a formidable challenge. Moreover, a newly discovered human gamma-herpes virus, human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8), has been identified in over 90% of KS lesions from patients with and without AIDS, suggesting its etiological importance in the development of KS and new therapeutic approaches.