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A study by E. Christina Persson of
the National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, and colleagues indicated that
there is an increased risk of cancers of the stomach and esophagus in people
with AIDS.
The researchers analyzed data from
596,955 people from the HIV/AIDS Cancer Match Study, which links data from 1980
to 2007 for 16 US population-based HIV and AIDS cancer registries. They
compared stomach and esophageal malignancies in people with AIDS with those of
the general public and evaluated the risks of different histological and
anatomic subtypes of carcinomas and non-Hodgkin lymphomas of the stomach and
esophagus in people with AIDS.
Results show that people with AIDS
have 69 percent and 44 percent increased risks of esophageal and stomach
carcinomas respectively, compared with the general population. The incidence of
carcinomas remained fairly constant over time, but rates of non-Hodgkin
lymphoma decreased from 1980–2007. The incidence of both esophageal and stomach
carcinomas increased with age, and the risk of these cancers among people with
AIDS did not decline across calendar years even with the introduction of highly
active antiretroviral therapy in 1996.
Compared with non-Hispanic White
subjects, Hispanic subjects had a lower risk of esophageal carcinoma, and
non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic subjects had a higher risk of stomach
carcinoma. No associations were observed between sex and risk of esophageal or
stomach cancer. Compared with men who have sex with men, heterosexuals with HIV
had a higher risk of esophageal carcinoma. Compared with the general
population, the risks of carcinomas of the esophagus or stomach were not
elevated in people with HIV only; compared with people with HIV only,
individuals with AIDS had a higher risk of carcinomas of the esophagus and the
stomach. The CD4 count at the onset of AIDS was not associated with risk of
esophageal or stomach carcinoma.
The researchers provide possible
explanations for these results, including an increased prevalence of H. pylori
infection in people with AIDS.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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