Cancer survival in patients with HIV/AIDS in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy in Taiwan: a population-based cohort study.

Abstract Objectives : HIV-related immunosuppression has been associated with the development of AIDS-defining malignancies. We examined the overall survival of HIV-infected patients who developed cancer. Design : A retrospective cohort study. Methods : Using the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database, we compared patients diagnosed with HIV ( n  = 9918) between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2007 with age-matched controls ( n  = 99,180). Each patient was followed until the end of 2009 (least 2 years after the initial HIV diagnosis) to evaluate the incidence of malignancies. Results : The risk of overall malignancies in the HIV-infected cohort was 1.88 times higher than the risk of a first malignancy in the age-matched non-HIV infected cohort (incidence rate ratio [IRR]) = 2.05, p p p Conclusions : The risk of cancer in HIV-infected patients in Taiwan has increased significantly in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. A history of HIV significantly affected the survival of the patients in our study cohort after they developed cancer. Evidence level : 2B.