Posted on January 23, 2018
Source: aidsmap
"A fifth of all cancers in people receiving HIV care in North America between 2000 and 2015 was due to smoking, according to US research published this month in advance online by the journal AIDS.
'In the United States, the prevalence of smoking among HIV-infected people is substantially higher than in the general population, and most HIV-infected individuals either currently smoke or have previously smoked,' comment the authors. 'Our findings indicated that a substantial fraction of cancer diagnoses among HIV-infected individuals potentially would not have occurred if they had never smoked.'
Thanks to improvements in HIV treatment and care, most people with HIV now have a normal or near-normal life expectancy. As these people age, non-AIDS-related cancers are an important cause of death.
Smoking tobacco can cause a range of cancers including lung cancer and its role in the development of cancers of the oral cavity, larynx, liver, colon, rectum and kidney is well established. Smoking may also contribute to the development of other cancers but more research is needed to understand how it might contribute to the development of these cancers. Smoking was estimated to cause 29% of all cancer deaths in 2010 in the United States."
