Prevalence of Different Types of Cancer in HIV+ Patients

Introduction of antiretroviral therapy has led to decline in AIDS-associated cancers. In recent years, the rate of non-AIDS associated cancers has increased. Current prevalence of AIDS-associated cancers in Iran is unknown, so we aimed to investigate the prevalence of different cancers among HIV-infected patients in Iran.

A cross-sectional survey was done using the records of 1243 HIV-positive patients between 2004 and 2017 in Tehran Imam Khomeini Hospital. Convenient sampling was done and the only inclusion criteria was confirmation of positive HIV by ELISA and Western blot.

There were 39 (3.1%) patients with cancers, including 16 (41%) males and 23 (59%) females. Twenty five (2%) patients had AIDS-associated cancers and 14 (1.1%) had non-AIDS associated cancers. HIV infected patients were found with cervical cancer (n=14, 1.1%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n=7, 0.6%), and Kaposi sarcoma (n=4, 0.3%).

The prevalence of AIDS-associated cancers such as cervical cancer appeared to be higher than that of non-AIDS associated cancers. Timely screening and antiretroviral therapy are crucial for early diagnosis and treatment of AIDS-associated cancers. Similar to developed countries, the incidence of non-AIDS associated cancers would increase in future in Iran too.