Association between HIV and cancer risk

We aimed to examine whether people with HIV infection (PWH) show different cancer incidences compared to individuals without HIV infection in South Korea.

Population-based cohort study.

This study included all PWH diagnosed with HIV infections in South Korea between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017. The 2017 PWH number includes both new and previous HIV diagnoses. The prevalence of newly diagnosed AIDS-defining cancers (ADCs) and non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) were evaluated from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022, as endpoints.

Following 1 : 5 propensity score matching, 20 703 PWH and 89 881 controls were included. The incidence rate of ADCs was 165.9 per 100 000 person-years in PWH and 51.8 per 100 000 person-years in the controls. In the Cox regression analysis, PWH had a 3.17-fold higher incidence of ADCs than in the controls (hazard ratio: 3.17, 95% confidence interval: 2.60-3.86; P  < 0.001). The incidence rate of NADCs was 1614 per 100 000 person-years in PWH and 1888 per 100 000 person-years in the controls. In the Cox regression analysis, no significant difference was observed in the incidence of NADCs between PWH and the control group ( P  = 0.101). However, PWH showed a higher incidence of NADCs than in the controls for nasopharyngeal, anal, and nonmelanoma skin cancers; Hodgkin lymphoma; and, leukemia.

PWH had a greater risk of ADCs than individuals without HIV infection. Among the NADCs, PWH showed a greater risk of nasopharyngeal, anal, nonmelanoma skin cancers; Hodgkin lymphoma; and leukemia.