As HIV Patients Live Longer, Certain Cancer Risks Rise: Study
As HIV Patients Live Longer, Certain Cancer Risks Rise: Study
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Antiretroviral therapy has extended the lives of people with HIV, but living longer may increase these patients' risk for certain cancers.
A study of nearly 90,000 HIV patients revealed a rise in three types of cancer as the AIDS-causing virus has evolved from a probable death sentence into a manageable chronic condition.
"We found that the risk of some cancers, such as anal, colorectal and liver cancers, are increasing over time mainly because HIV patients are living longer," said study lead author Michael Silverberg, of the Kaiser Permanente division of research in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation's largest health plans.
According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, HIV patients have always faced a significantly higher cancer risk, most notably for Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and cervical cancer. That's because of a generally weakened immune system and a higher rate of infection with cancer-related viruses.
HIV antiretroviral therapy, launched in 1996, has curbed some of that elevated risk. Now, the study team explained, HIV patients receiving antiretroviral therapy can look forward to a life span of roughly 75 years.
However, cancer risk has not been brought down to general population levels. And some cancer risk has actually risen since the advent of antiretroviral therapy, the researchers said.
Results of the study are published in the Oct. 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
The researchers focused on roughly 87,000 HIV patients and almost 197,000 non-HIV adults who participated in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design study between 1996 and 2009.
Investigators tracked the rate of nine types of cancer, including Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, lung cancer, anal cancer, colon/rectal cancer, liver cancer, oral cavity/pharyngeal cancer and melanoma. They also tallied each group's total cancer risk until age 75.
The team determined that compared with non-HIV participants, cancer rates for HIV patients were higher across all nine cancers in every year examined.
In particular, by 2009, HIV patients were identified as having a one in 25 lifetime risk for developing Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or lung cancer, the findings showed.
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Antiretroviral therapy has extended the lives of people with HIV, but living longer may increase these patients' risk for certain cancers.
A study of nearly 90,000 HIV patients revealed a rise in three types of cancer as the AIDS-causing virus has evolved from a probable death sentence into a manageable chronic condition.
"We found that the risk of some cancers, such as anal, colorectal and liver cancers, are increasing over time mainly because HIV patients are living longer," said study lead author Michael Silverberg, of the Kaiser Permanente division of research in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation's largest health plans.
According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, HIV patients have always faced a significantly higher cancer risk, most notably for Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and cervical cancer. That's because of a generally weakened immune system and a higher rate of infection with cancer-related viruses.
HIV antiretroviral therapy, launched in 1996, has curbed some of that elevated risk. Now, the study team explained, HIV patients receiving antiretroviral therapy can look forward to a life span of roughly 75 years.
However, cancer risk has not been brought down to general population levels. And some cancer risk has actually risen since the advent of antiretroviral therapy, the researchers said.
Results of the study are published in the Oct. 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
The researchers focused on roughly 87,000 HIV patients and almost 197,000 non-HIV adults who participated in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design study between 1996 and 2009.
Investigators tracked the rate of nine types of cancer, including Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, lung cancer, anal cancer, colon/rectal cancer, liver cancer, oral cavity/pharyngeal cancer and melanoma. They also tallied each group's total cancer risk until age 75.
The team determined that compared with non-HIV participants, cancer rates for HIV patients were higher across all nine cancers in every year examined.
In particular, by 2009, HIV patients were identified as having a one in 25 lifetime risk for developing Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or lung cancer, the findings showed.
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