HIV and neoplasms: What do we know so far?

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic remains an important issue. In 2020, approximately 37.7 million people were living with the disease and there were more than 680 thousand deaths due to complications linked to the disease. Despite these exorbitant numbers, the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy has marked a new era, changing the epidemiological profile of the infection and related pathologies, including neoplasms.

We performed a literature review to assess the role of neoplasms in patients with HIV after the introduction of antiretroviral therapy.

A literature review was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method, searching the MEDLINE, LILACS, and COCHRANE databases for articles published from 2010 onwards.

Using specific key terms, 1,341 articles were identified; two were duplicates, 107 were selected for full-text evaluation, and 20 were included in the meta-analysis. The selected studies included 2,605,869 patients. Fifteen of the 20 articles indicated a reduction in the global incidence of AIDS-defining neoplasms and 12 indicated an overall increase in non-AIDS-defining cancers after the introduction of antiretrovirals. This growth trend could be explained by a range of factors including the aging population with HIV, risky behaviors, and coinfection with oncogenic viruses.

There was a decreasing trend in the incidence of AIDS-defining neoplasms and increasing trend in non-AIDS-defining neoplasms. However, the carcinogenic effect of antiretrovirals could not be confirmed. In addition, studies focusing on the oncogenic role of HIV and screening for neoplasms in individuals with HIV are required.