Lung cancer in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

This retrospective study determined the clinical course of lung cancer in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A total of 23 patients with HIV infection archived as lung cancer were studied: 16 were identified from about 1,000 lung cancer patients entered in the tumor registry and medical records of Jackson Memorial Hospital, 7 were identified from about 1,000 HIV-positive patients entered in the Special Immunology registry of Veterans Administration Medical Center, 4 patients did not have pathologic confirmation of lung cancer, and 19 patients, all men, met the criteria for analysis (histopathologic diagnosis of lung cancer and HIV+ by serology). The median age was 47 (range: 36-66). Risk factors for HIV were homosexuality (6 patients), blood transfusion (3), promiscuity (5), intravenous drug abuse (4), and none (3). Six patients had a history of coexistent pulmonary tuberculosis and 5 had Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Median survival from diagnosis of lung cancer was 3 months. Advanced stages of both HIV infection and lung cancer may account for the poor survival. All patients were men and noted to be younger than other patients with lung cancer.