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
. 2025 Feb 1;38(1):10-17.
doi: 10.1097/QCO.0000000000001076. Epub 2024 Nov 28.

Prostate cancer in people with HIV

Keith Sigel  1 , Ryan Yu  1 , Elizabeth Chiao  2 , Ashish Deshmukh  3 , Michael S Leapman  4
Affiliations
Review

Prostate cancer in people with HIV

Keith Sigel et al. Curr Opin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: Prostate cancer burden has been rising among people with HIV (PWH), yet it remains understudied in the context of HIV infection. The objective of this review article is to summarize contemporary information on the burden, risk, and outcomes of prostate cancer for people living with HIV.

Recent findings: Despite a lower apparent incidence of prostate cancer in early studies for PWH compared to uninfected persons, this malignancy is now likely to be the most common tumor for US PWH. Tumor characteristics and stage appear to have limited differences by HIV status. The optimal approach to early detection of prostate cancer remains controversial, and there are little HIV-specific data surrounding screening. Prostate cancer outcomes may have been worse for PWH in the early antiretroviral era but may have improved in more recent years.

Summary: Prostate cancer is an increasingly common clinical issue for PWH. Lower than expected incidence rates in the early ART-era may be increasing, and oncologic outcomes may also be improving. Treatment tolerability is still a key question for this patient group. Given the clinical and biological complexity of chronic HIV infection, strategies for both early detection and treatment will need continued evaluation specifically in the setting of HIV.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

AD worked as a paid consultant for an unrelated project for Value Analytics Lab and served as a member of a scientific advisory board for Merck Inc. on an unrelated project. All other authors report no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Samji H, Cescon A, Hogg RS et al. Closing the gap: increases in life expectancy among treated HIV-positive individuals in the United States and Canada. PLoS One 2013; 8:e81355. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shiels MS, Islam JY, Rosenberg PS et al. Projected Cancer Incidence Rates and Burden of Incident Cancer Cases in HIV-Infected Adults in the United States Through 2030. Ann Intern Med 2018; 168:866–873. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Izadmehr S, Leapman M, Hobbs AR et al. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of HIV-seropositive men treated with surgery for prostate cancer. Int Urol Nephrol 2016; 48:1639–1645. - PubMed
    1. Riedel DJ, Cox ER, Stafford KA, Gilliam BL. Clinical presentation and outcomes of prostate cancer in an urban cohort of predominantly African American, human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. Urology 2015; 85:415–421. - 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; 33:2376–2383. - PMC - PubMed