title: HIV and cancer in Germany.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer is now the leading cause of death in persons with HIV. In this study, we gathered current epidemiological data on Aids-defining (AD) and non-Aids-defining (NAD) malignancies among HIV-positive patients in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 2000 to 2007, all 35 specialized HIV outpatient clinics and 189 HIV ambulatory care centers in Germany were contacted and asked to fill out a structured questionnaire on the incidence of malignancies in HIV-positive patients during multiple periods of observation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  552 evaluable data sets were reported. 253 (45.8%) of the reported malignancies were AD. Among the 299 cases (54.2%) of NAD malignancies, there were 214 solid tumors, including 71 anal carcinomas (23.7% of all NAD malignancies), and 85 hematopoietic malignancies, including 29 cases of Hodgkin`s lymphoma (9.7% of all NAD malignancies). The high percentage of NAD malignancy remained constant throughout the entire period of the study. Only a single case of primary cerebral lymphoma was reported after 2001. The number of patients with Hodgkin`s lymphoma rose steadily from 2000 to 2007.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The spectrum of HIV-associated malignancies has changed since the early days of the HIV epidemic. In Germany, NAD malignancies have become more common than AD malignancies. In particular, anal carcinoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma are much more common among persons with HIV than in the general population. Persons with HIV need more intensive preventive care for cancer than non-infected persons do.
authors.affiliation: Mannheimer Onkologie Praxis Q 5, 14–22, 68161 Mannheim, Germany. hensel@mannheimer-onkologie-praxis.de
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hensel
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goetzenich
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.forename: Albrecht
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stoehr
authors.forename: Arend
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moll
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rockstroh
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hanhoff
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jäger
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mosthaf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult