Combination ART significantly reduced the risk for Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma among patients with HIV, as well as liver and anal cancers to a lesser degree, according to findings published in AIDS. Eric A. Engels, MD, MPH, and colleagues linked HIV and cancer registries in Texas to a national prescription claims database, assessing 63,694 people with HIV who were followed for 276,804 person-years. The median ART proportion of days covered was 21.4% (interquartile range, 0.0% to 59.8%). Combination ART use was associated with decreased risk for Kaposi sarcoma relative to being ART-unexposed (adjusted HR [aHR], 0.48; 95% CI, 0.34-0.68) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (aHR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.31-0.53), liver cancer (aHR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.39-0.96), anal cancer (aHR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46-0.92), and other cancers (aHR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66-0.98). However, exposure to combination ART was not associated with risk for cervical, lung, colorectal, prostate or breast cancers. “These associations likely re-flect the beneficial effects of HIV suppression and improved immune control of oncogenic viruses,” Dr. Engels and colleagues wrote.
