Spectrum of HIV Associated Malignancies: A Retrospective Study of 42 Patients over a Period of 16 Years Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: The Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remains a serious public health concern in India and around the world at large. Malignancy is frequent among people living with HIV (PLWH) has become the leading cause of death. The incidence of malignancy among PLWH depends on various factors; virological control under combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), the exposure to oncogenic virus is of utmost importance, which can be prevented with the implementation of specific screening programs. Drug-drug interactions between cART and oncologic treatments can lead to serious adverse effects or to a reduction in the therapeutic effects requiring close monitoring. Methods: This is a single center retrospective study conducted on 42 seropositive patients attending a tertiary care oncology department from July 2005 to June 2021 to assess the demographic profile; laboratory investigations, clinico-pathological correlation, treatment outcome and survival follow up. Results: A total of 26410 patients were registered in the department during this period, out of which 42 (0.16%) were found to be HIV positive. These included head & neck -13; uterine cervix-7; lung -4; esophagus-4; NHL-4; recto sigmoid -3; breast-3; gall bladder; endometrium, choriocarcinoma (CCA) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) one each. Conclusion; Seropositive patients often present in advanced stage of disease but have a good prognosis if treated appropriately with anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Very few studies have been published in India regarding the incidence of malignancy in HIV patients credited as one of the largest study published till date.