HIV and cancer: Treatment challenges for patients

HIV and Cancer in the same body: challenges 

Zimbabwe is severely affected by the AIDS epidemic, with a prevalence rate of 13.7% and many cancers in African population are related to infectious agents. Seventy percent of cervical cancer cases in sub-Saharan Africa are caused by human papilloma virus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted. The HIV and AIDS pandemic is augmenting the rate of HIV-related cancers, with 60% of new cancers in Zimbabwe being associated with HIV and AIDS, according to the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry Report of 2005.

Some books in our collection on HIV,AIDS and Cancer

1. Side effects of medical cancer therapy: prevention and treatment edited by M A Dicato
2. A practical approach to infectious diseases by R E Reese and R F Betts
3.The biological basis of cancer by Mckinnell, Parchment, Perantoni and pierce
4. Specialist training in oncology by Ajithkumar and Hatcher
5. HIV Curriculum for health professionals by BIPAI
6. Handbook of communication oncology and palliative care edited by Kissane, Bults, Butow and finlay
7. Cancer patients, cancer pathways: historial and sociological perspectives edited by C Timmermann
8. Community engagement for antiretroviral treatment by International HIV/AIDS Alliance
 *To access these and many other medical books visit our library located in Mpilo Hospital, third floor, Main hospital block.


The connection between HIV/AIDS and certain cancers is not completely understood, but the link likely depends on a weakened immune system. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the immune system caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is transmitted from person to person most commonly in blood and bodily secretions (such as semen). A person with HIV is highly vulnerable to life-threatening conditions because HIV severely weakens the body’s immune system. When HIV infection causes symptoms and specific disease syndromes, the disease is called AIDS. People with HIV/AIDS have a high risk of developing certain cancers, such as Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and cervical cancer.  

For people with HIV, these three cancers are often called “AIDS-defining conditions,” meaning that if a person with an HIV infection has one of these cancers it can signify the development of AIDS.

extracted from http://www.cancerzimbabwe.org/hiv_aids_cancer.html

Research on HIV and Cancer

Researchers analyzed the National Cancer Data Base, specifically looking at adults under the age of 65 who were diagnosed with some of the most common cancers from 2003 to 2011 comparing the outcomes of 10,265 cancer cases in HIV-infected patients to the remaining 2.2 million cases in people without HIV. Cancer treatment was defined as chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, or any combination during the first course of treatment. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between HIV status and lack of cancer treatment, and identify predictors for lack of treatment among HIV-infected patients.Most often people living with both diseases were less likely to ever obtain cancer treatment than the uninfected.

Looking at type of cancer, people with HIV were more than twice as likely to not obtain treatment for lung, prostate, and breast cancers, among others. And they were nearly twice as likely to not get care for Hodgkin's lymphoma, colorectal cancer, and cancers of the head and neck. Only anal cancer saw similar treatment rates across both groups.
Race and tumor type tended to be the strongest predictors of whether people with HIV would get treated, with people who were black, had no insurance or had solid tumors, like those in breast cancers, less likely to get care proper care.

In the United States, HIV-infected patients with cancer appear to be less likely to receive cancer treatment regardless of insurance and comorbidities.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.30052/abstract