Breast cancer in women with human immunodeficiency virus infection: pathological, clinical, and prognostic implications.
BACKGROUND
AIDS and breast cancer have become two important public health issues for women. Of interest is the prolonged survival of patients diagnosed with HIV infection as a result of the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). With improved survival, we are likely to see more HIV-infected patients with breast cancer.


METHODS
This study, which is a review of our experience at Harlem Hospital Center, New York, between 2000 and 2008, compared HIV-positive with HIV-negative breast cancer patients, with attention to tumor size, stage, grade, molecular markers and lymphovascular invasion, treatment, and patient survival.


RESULTS
Only 63 of 370 patients with breast carcinoma were tested for HIV, and 6 of the 63 women tested positive for HIV. We, therefore, compared the clinical features and tumor characteristics seen in the 6 HIV-infected women with those of the 57 HIV-seronegative breast cancer patients. We found no differences in presentation, median age, and tumor morphology in the two groups of patients. When the patients in our previous report on 5 HIV-positive breast cancer patients were added to the present group, the overall 5-year survival rate among the 11 HIV-infected patients was 75%. Of note is the finding that HIV infection in premenopausal women was not associated with aggressive breast cancer subtypes with poor survival outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate that histological subgroups and 5-year survival appear similar among HIV-positive breast cancer patients.
Sarhan
Mohammad
M
Department of Surgery, Harlem Hospital Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10037, USA. ms3711@columbia.edu
DePaz
Hector A
HA
Oluwole
Soji F D
SF
D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009519:New York City; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D047368:Tumor Burden
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents