Screening for cervical cancer in HIV-infected women: A review of literature

Abstract

Globally, the cervical cancer burden is huge, more so in low-resource countries. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection increases a woman's risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer. There is a lack of opportunistic, as well as, organized cervical cancer screening structure for HIV-positive women. A large proportion of women have invasive cervical cancer as their initial acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining illness. There is an especially high-incidence in countries where there are no organized cervical cancer prevention programs. Additionally, there are cultural, social, psychological, and system barriers that women living with HIV have to overcome when accessing healthcare services. We believe that educating women and healthcare providers regarding the need for screening, early detection, and treatment is as important as bringing about a systematic change in healthcare services to improve participation of HIV-positive women in screening for cervical cancer.

Keywords: Cervical cancer; HIV infection; review; screening.