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Review
. 2011 Sep;8(3):142-52.
doi: 10.1007/s11904-011-0085-5.

Cancer screening in patients infected with HIV

Affiliations
Review

Cancer screening in patients infected with HIV

Keith Sigel et al. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2011 Sep.

Abstract

Non-AIDS-defining cancers are a rising health concern among HIV-infected patients. Cancer screening is now an important component of health maintenance in HIV clinical practice. The decision to screen an HIV-infected patient for cancer should include an assessment of individualized risk for the particular cancer, life expectancy, and the harms and benefits associated with the screening test and its potential outcome. HIV-infected patients are at enhanced risk of several cancers compared to the general population; anal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and lung cancer all have good evidence demonstrating an enhanced risk in HIV-infected persons. A number of cancer screening interventions have shown benefit for specific cancers in the general population, but data on the application of these tests to HIV-infected persons are limited. Here we review the epidemiology and background literature relating to cancer screening interventions in HIV-infected persons. We then use these data to inform a conceptual model for evaluating HIV-infected patients for cancer screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual model for consideration of cancer screening in asymptomatic HIV-infected patients

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References

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