Video

What Kids Wear Could Determine How Much Exercise They Get

Few College Students Have Received the H1N1 Vaccine

Night Lights Could Lead to Depression

Cervarix Has Been Approved by the FDA

The FDA Is Studying the Effects of Lasik Surgery

Painkillers Can Dull the Effects of Childhood Vaccines

Childbirth May Becoming More Complicated

Botox Sponges Might Help Nose Allergies

The FDA Advises on How to Properly Dispose of Medicine

A French Study Shows Cell Phones Do Not Affect Humans

MRIs May Lead to More Back Surgery

Your More Likely to Wash Your Hands If Someone's Watching

Co-Sleeping Is a Leading Cause of SIDS

Night Shifts Don't Have a Major Effect On Surgeons

Exercise May Counter Fatigue from Chemotherapy

Non-AIDS-Related Cancers Growing Among HIV Patients

Posted on 09/30/2009, 14:00
By -- Robert Preidt

Possible reasons for increased rates explored by researchers

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Non-AIDS-related cancers such as anal and lung cancer have become more common among HIV patients than among people without HIV since antiretroviral therapies were introduced in the mid-1990s to treat people with the virus, U.S. researchers say.

Because of their weakened immune system, AIDS patients are at increased risk for so-called AIDS-defining malignancies, which include cancers such as cervical carcinoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Kaposi's sarcoma.

There has been speculation that non-AIDS-defining malignancies are becoming more common among HIV patients because antiretroviral drugs help them live longer. But this new study by researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas suggests other factors may exist.

The researchers analyzed 1997 to 2004 data from more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. Veterans Affairs Healthcare System and found that HIV-infected patients were 60 percent more likely to have anal, lung, Hodgkin's, melanoma or liver cancer than patients without HIV.

"It's a genuine increase in the incidence of these cancers," lead author Dr. Roger Bedimo, an assistant professor of internal medicine, said in a university news release. "The increase is more visible because these patients are living longer, but our findings suggest that the increased number of non-AIDS-defining malignancies is not simply the result of their longer lives."

The study appears online and in the October print issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

One controversial theory is that antiretroviral therapy itself may increase the risk of non-AIDS-defining malignancies, the study authors noted.

"The second hypothesis is that HIV-infected patients somehow, either by their lifestyle or other circumstances, are more subject to the traditional risk factors than non-HIV patients," Bedimo said. "The third hypothesis is that HIV or another undetected virus increases a patient's risk for developing cancer intrinsically."

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about AIDS-related cancers.

SOURCE: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, news release, Sept. 25, 2009

More news in Colon Cancer...

BigHealthTree.com Disclaimer

Bighealthtree.com Does Not Provide Medical Advice. This site, including the above information, is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or health advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health or medical professional before starting any new treatment, changing existing treatment, or altering your current exercise and/or diet program. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911 (or the emergency services in your area) or your doctor immediately.

Rating: 3.1 / 5 (116 votes)