Higher HIV risk with cancer-causing virus

A virus that causes cancer has been revealed to be associated with a higher risk of contracting new HIV infections.

Research from University of California, San Francisco (UCFS) has found that previously HIV-negative men who have sex with men are more likely to catch the virus if they are already infected with anal human papillomavirus (HPV).

Peter V Chin-Hong, associate professor of clinical medicine and director of the programme in transplant and immunocompromised host infectious diseases at UCSF, wrote in AIDS journal that the "results showed a strong independent association for increased risk of HIV acquisition among those men who were already infected with anal HPV".

"We think that HPV enhances susceptibility to HIV infection through two mechanisms. Anatomically, the virus causes anal lesions," he added.

"These lesions bring blood vessels closer to the surface and also the lesions' skin layer is thinner and more easily shredded, which frequently causes bleeding. These disruptions of the mucosal barrier could allow easier entry for HIV."

Clinical trails are currently underway to discover the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine against the virus.

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