The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7341 p329
19 March 2005

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HAART helps prevent some cancers in HIV-infected patients

Use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) appears to prevent excess cases of certain cancers in people infected with HIV, according to a new study.

European researchers analysed data from the Swiss HIV cohort study and Swiss cancer registries and found that people who used HAART had lower risks of Kaposi’s sarcoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma than those who did not use HAART. Even with HAART these tumours occurred 20 times more frequently than they do in the general population, say the researchers. The finding supports the tenet that HIV-induced immunosuppression is responsible for this cancer excess among infected persons.

The researchers point out that HAART use was not associated with lower risks of other cancers and note that no lung cancers were observed in people infected with HIV who were non-smokers (Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2005;97:425).