HIV Status and Acute Hematologic Toxicity Among Patients With Cervix Cancer Undergoing Radical Chemoradiation

Women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a higher risk of developing cervix carcinoma than do other women who are thought to be more vulnerable to acute toxicities during chemoradiation. We compared HIV-positive/HIV-negative patients with cervix carcinoma at a single institution with respect to cancer treatment toxicities.

Among patients with stage Ib1-IIIb invasive cervical carcinoma who received radiation or chemoradiation with curative intent, we evaluated demographic and clinical characteristics of HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients. Treatment regimens were documented and toxicities scored as per Radiation Therapy Oncology Group guidelines. We developed logistic regression models for the associations of grade 3/4 toxicities with HIV status.

Complete data were available on 213 patients, including 36 (16.8%) who were HIV positive. More than 85% of both HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients received a minimum of 68-Gy equivalent dose in 2-Gy-fraction external beam and high-dose-rate brachytherapy. More HIV-positive than HIV-negative patients were prescribed radiation alone (38.9% vs 24.29%, P = 0.01), experienced at least 1 grade 3/4 toxicity (38.9% vs 26.6%), or developed grade 3/4 leucopenia (30.6% vs 10.2%, P = 0.003).In a multivariable model, patients who developed a grade 3/4 toxicity were 4 times as likely to have received chemotherapy (odds ratio, 4.41 [95% confidence interval, 1.76-11.1]; P = 0.023) and twice as likely to be HIV positive (odds ratio 2.16 [95% confidence interval, 0.98-4.8]; P = 0.05) as women who did not experience such toxicities.

HIV-positive patients with cervical carcinoma received adequate radiotherapy but were less likely than HIV-negative patients to complete chemotherapy. Few HIV-positive or HIV-negative patients who received radiotherapy without chemotherapy experienced grade 3/4 toxicity. However, among patients who received chemotherapy, those who were HIV positive were more likely than others to experience hematologic toxicity.