Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jan;12(1):69-76.
doi: 10.1097/COH.0000000000000332.

Malignancies in women with HIV infection

Nora T Oliver  1 , Elizabeth Y Chiao
Affiliations
Review

Malignancies in women with HIV infection

Nora T Oliver et al. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose of review: To review current knowledge of different cancer states affecting women with HIV infection.

Recent findings: With improved survival of persons with HIV in the post-cART era, the landscape of malignancies in this population has greatly changed with fewer AIDS-defining malignancies (ADM) and a growing number of non-AIDS defining malignancies (NADM). Women, however, continue to represent a vulnerable population at risk for certain ADM and NADM such as cervical, anal, and breast cancer. Human papillomavirus-mediated cancers disproportionately burden women in resource-poor settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. For cancers such as Kaposi's sarcoma, lung cancer, liver cancer, and colorectal cancer, women share a lower burden of disease compared with their male counterparts. However, there remains a dearth of evidence characterizing these disease states specifically among women.

Summary: Cancer in women with HIV continues to be a major source of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in low-income countries. Screening strategies, primary prevention through vaccination against human papillomavirus and viral hepatitis, and treatment for HIV with combined antiviral therapy remain cornerstones in cancer prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

Neither author has any conflicts of interest to declare.

References

    1. Silverberg MJ, Lau B, Achenbach CJ, et al. Cumulative Incidence of Cancer Among Persons With HIV in North America: A Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. 2015;163(7):507–18. This well-executed large observational study describes cumulative risk using a competing risk approach of many ADMs and NADMs in HIV-positive persons compared to HIV-negative persons the US and Canada from 1996–2009. While mortality drecreased overtime for persons with HIV, mortality rate and cancer indicence for KS, anal cancer, and NHL remain higher in the HIV population compared to their negative counterparts. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Coghill AE, Shiels MS, Suneja G, Engels EA. Elevated Cancer-Specific Mortality Among HIV-Infected Patients in the United States. J Clin Oncol. 2015;33(21):2376–83. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Ervik M, et al. GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11 [Internet] Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2013. [accessed on 18 July 2016]. Available from: http://globocan.iarc.fr.
    1. Stier EA, Sebring MC, Mendez AE, et al. Prevalence of anal human papillomavirus infection and anal HPV-related disorders in women: a systematic review. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2015;213(3):278–309. This very intersting systematic review brings to the forefront the burden of disease and changing epidemiology of HPV infection and its malignant sequelae in women with and without HIV infection. Women with HIV and prior cervical lesions are at high risk for developing anal HPV infection and neoplasia. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hleyhel M, Belot A, Bouvier AM, et al. Trends in survival after cancer diagnosis among HIV-infected individuals between 1992 and 2009. Results from the FHDH-ANRS CO4 cohort. Int J Cancer. 2015;137(10):2443–53. - PubMed