HIV and AIDS-Related Cancer

Kaposi sarcoma is the most common HIV/AIDS-related cancer, and it is more common in men than women. It is estimated that a person with an HIV infection is 20,000 times more likely to develop Kaposi sarcoma than a person without HIV. However, Kaposi sarcoma has decreased due to improved HIV treatment, with about 7 new cases per million people diagnosed each year. For people with Kaposi sarcoma, the five-year survival rate (the percentage of people who survive at least five years after the cancer is detected, excluding those who die from other diseases) for people in the good-risk category based on T and I factors (see Staging) is 90%. For people in the poor risk category, the five-year survival rate is about 50%. The five-year survival rate decreases to 30% if the Kaposi sarcoma is located in the lungs.

NHL is the second most common cancer associated with HIV/AIDS. NHL is 20 to 50 times more common in people with HIV/AIDS than those without HIV/AIDS. More than 80% of lymphomas in people with HIV/AIDS are high-grade B-cell lymphoma, while 10% to 15% of lymphomas among people with cancer who do not have HIV/AIDS are of this type. People with HIV/AIDS are also more likely to develop central nervous system lymphoma than people without HIV/AIDS.

Women with HIV/AIDS have a high risk of developing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Over time, CIN can progress to invasive cervical cancer.

Cancer survival statistics should be interpreted with caution. These estimates are based on data from thousands of cases of each type of cancer in the United States each year, but the actual risk for a particular individual may differ. It is not possible to tell a person how long he or she will live with HIV/AIDS-related cancer. Because the survival statistics are measured in multi-year intervals, they may not represent advances made in the treatment or diagnosis of this cancer. Learn more about understanding statistics.

Statistics adapted from the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.