title: Combination antiretroviral therapy and cancer risk.
abstract: To review the newest research about the effects of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) on cancer risk.
  
  
  
  HIV+ persons are at increased risk of cancer. As this risk is higher for malignancies driven by viral and bacterial coinfections, classifying malignancies into infection-related and infection-unrelated has been an emerging trend. Cohorts have detected major reductions in the incidence of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) following cART initiation among immunosuppressed HIV+ persons. However, recent randomized data indicate that cART reduces risk of Kaposi sarcoma and NHL also during early HIV infection before overt immunosuppression occurs. Long-term effects of cART exposure on cancer risk are not well defined; according to basic and epidemiological research, there might be specific associations of each cART class with distinct patterns of cancer risk.
  
  
  
  The relationship between cART exposure and cancer risk is complex and nuanced. It is an intriguing fact that, whether initiated during severe immunosuppression or not, cART reduces risk of Kaposi sarcoma and NHL. Further research should identify mediators of the benefit of immediate cART initiation in reducing cancer risk, understand the relationship between long-term cART exposure and cancer incidence and assess whether adjuvant anti-inflammatory therapies can reduce cancer risk during treated HIV infection.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health and Infectious Diseases Research, Department of Infectious Diseases, Section 2100, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Álvaro H
authors.initials: ÁH
authors.lastname: Borges
mesh_terms: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000379:methods*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents