AIDS-Related Malignancies

OVERVIEW OF MALIGNANCY IN PATIENTS WITH AIDS: Despite the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy, the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated malignancies has not decreased. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has determined that Kaposi's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (including primary central nervous system lymphoma), and cervical carcinoma define the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Some literature reports include Hodgkin's disease, anal carcinoma, lung cancer, and non-melanomatous skin cancers as ones commonly found in people infected with HIV. The oncologist is further challenged treating a patient with malignancy whose malignancy is complicated by a concurrent compromised marrow function. This article will review the clinical presentation and current treatment for the HIV-associated malignancies and selected other tumors in the HIV-infected patient. Furthermore, HIV-associated myelosuppression is a common problem in antiviral-undertreated or antiviral-resistant patients.