Epidemiological trends of cancers in AIDS patients

Since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have seen a significant improvement in their morbidity, mortality and life expectancy. The incidence of AIDS-defining illnesses, including AIDS-defining malignancies, has been on the decline. However, deaths due to non-AIDS-defining illnesses have been on the rise. These so-called non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) include cancers of the lung, liver, anus, and Hodgkin's lymphoma. The development of NADCs appears to be multifactorial. Risk factors include immunosuppressive effects of the HIV, higher rates of oncogenic viral coinfections and traditional cancer risk factors. New strategies for screening, prevention and treatment of NADCs need to be developed to reverse these epidemiologic trends and improve the survival of HIV-infected patients.