Prevalence and trend of AIDS-defining cancers and non-AIDS-defining cancers and their association with antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV in South Carolina: a population-based cohort study

ABSTRACT

Monitoring cancer trends and risk is critical as cancer remains a growing problem in persons living with HIV (PLWH). Recent population-based data are limited regarding the cancer trends among PLWH. Our study examined the prevalence and trends in the rate of AIDS-defining cancers (ADC) and non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADC) and their risk factors in PLWH in South Carolina. Utilizing linked population-based HIV data (2005–2020), time-dependent proportional hazards model was used to identify associated risk predictors of developing cancer in PLWH. Among 11,238 PLWH, 250 individuals developed ADC and 454 developed NADC. The median time from HIV diagnosis to cancer diagnosis was 1.9 years for ADC and 3.8 years for NADC. Individuals who developed ADC or NADC were more likely to be older, male, use substances, have hepatitis infection, hypothyroidism, hypertension, and renal disease. Individuals with viral load >100,000 copies/ml were more likely to develop ADC while those with CD4 count >350 cells/mm³ were less likely to develop ADC or NADC. Our findings suggest that long-term viral suppression may contribute to risk reduction for cancer in PLWH. Early HIV diagnosis along with viral load suppression should be a part of ongoing cancer prevention efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• AIDS-defining cancers
• non-AIDS-defining cancers
• viral load suppression
• tobacco use

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the different organizations (SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, Ryan White Service, and Health Sciences South Carolina) that provided their patients data that was used in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease of the National Institute of Health under award number RO1AI127203.