Cancers common in hiv-infected patients

[Kit]

AIDS-defining cancers in HIV-infected patients are

Kaposi sarcoma
Lymphoma, Burkitt (or equivalent term)
Lymphoma, immunoblastic (or equivalent term)
Lymphoma, primary, of CNS
Cervical cancer, invasive

Other cancers that appear to be dramatically increased in incidence or severity include

Hodgkin lymphoma (especially the mixed cellularity and lymphocyte-depleted subtypes)
Anal cancer
Testicular cancer
Melanoma
Other skin and superficial eye cancers

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare complication of HIV infection in children. Also, the rates of other common cancers (eg, lung, head and neck, and cervical carcinomas; hepatomas) are several times higher in HIV-infected patients than in the general population. This finding may reflect, at least in part, greater exposure to the viruses or toxins that cause these cancers: hepatitis B and C for hepatoma, HPV for cervical and anal carcinoma, and alcohol and tobacco for lung and head and neck carcinomas.
(See also Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection.)