Cancer Awareness Among People Living with HIV (PLWH): Insights from an Italian Survey of Oncologists and Infectious...

Since the mid-1990s, the adoption of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has significantly reduced HIV-related mortality and morbidity. Nevertheless, cancer continues to be the leading cause of death in people living with HIV (PLWH). We conducted a survey to assess the knowledge and inter-disciplinarity among the Italian oncologists and infectious disease specialists in the cancer prevention and treatment of PLWH.

All the members of AIOM, SIMIT and SITA who are oncologists and infectious disease specialists were invited via email. A survey with 24 queries was administered using a web-based platform. Data were analysed with the chi-square or Fisher exact tests to explore any significant difference between the two specialist subgroups.

From April to June 2023, 182 participants filled in the questionnaires. A low rate of respondents from each scientific society was reported (3% for AIOM, 8% from SIMIT and 2% from SITA). All interviewees agreed that HIV infection was a relevant risk factor for cancer (95.1%) and that PLWH had limited access to clinical trials (73.1%). More than a third of oncologists worked in a hospital without an infectious diseases department, using a remote method of communication for interdisciplinary discussion (telephone and Email were used in 64.5% of cases). Eighty-four percent of the oncologists vs 51.4% of the infectious disease specialists had in charge less than 5 patients with HIV during the previous year.

The results of this survey underscore the opportunity for education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and organizational support to optimize cancer care for PLWH. A Hub&Spoke model could represent a potential facilitation to build-up in the near future through inter-societal collaboration.