French study finds increase in cancer deaths among HIV patients

The role of cancer as a cause of death among HIV-positive patients in France increased in 2005, according to newly-published research.

The study, conducted by a group of researchers representing several major medical centres across the country, found that over a third of deaths of people with HIV were caused by a kind of cancer.

In the course of the research 1042 deaths were reported, with 334 (34 per cent) declared as cancer-related. The 2005 findings were compared with a similar study conducted in 2000.

The report stated: "The goal of the current study was to describe the distribution and characteristics of malignancy-related deaths among human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients.

"An increasing proportion of lethal non–AIDS-related cancers was demonstrated from 2000 to 2005; meanwhile, the proportion of lethal AIDS-related cancers remained stable among HIV-infected patients."

The researchers concluded that cancer diagnosis and management "should be included in the routine long-term follow-up of HIV-infected patients."