Infection with HIV increases the risk of cancer

As the immune deficiency caused by the AIDS virus increases the frequency of cancer among HIV positive individuals, it is essential to ensure that these patients maintain a high level of CD4 lymphocytes.

For ten years of so, HIV infection has been considered to be a chronic condition. A French study conducted on more than 50,000 patients between 1998 and 2006 enabled us to assess the risk of various forms of cancer associated with being HIV positive. A number of different factors were tested: the level of immunodeficiency (measured by the CD4 lymphocyte level), the viral load (which reflects the level of the virus in the system) and the taking of antiretroviral drugs.

The types of cancer investigated included Kaposi’s sarcoma, lymphomas, cervical, lung, liver and anal canal cancers. In all these cancers, except the last, immune deficiency appeared to be the most predictive factor. And the lower the number of lymphocytes, the greater the risk of cancer.

“With the exception of anal canal cancer, the risk appears reversible when CD4 levels rise”, states Dr Dominique Costaglia, who led the study. “It is therefore essential to ensure that the immune levels of these patients are restored by the use of antiretrovirals”.