Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Cancer: Past, Present, and Future

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
From the beginning of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in 1981, it has been apparent that people infected with this virus have an elevated risk for certain cancers, most notably Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Indeed, it was the explosive outbreak of KS among young homosexual men in New York City and California that signaled the onset of the epidemic. HIV induces clinical disease, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), by causing progressive depletion of CD4 + T lymphocytes, the linchpin of the cell-mediated immune system. Only since 1996 have we had effective HIV/AIDS treatment, in the form of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), that can markedly suppress the replication of HIV, partially restore immunity, reduce morbidity, and extend life ( 1 ) .