Cancers & HIV Infection

Cancers & HIV Infection

AIDS-related cancers occur with greater frequency among people with HIV/AIDS than in the general population. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common AIDS-related cancer, followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

Rates for many other cancers are rising among people with HIV/AIDS। Antiretroviral therapy has made it possible for people with HIV/AIDS to live longer, healthier lives, which gives other cancers more time to develop.'

Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS)

Kaposi's sarcoma was one of the first signs of the AIDS epidemic in the United States in the early 1980s. Even though antiretroviral therapy has greatly reduced the number of new cases, KS remains the most common AIDS-related cancer. It appears in gay and bisexual men much more frequently than in women or heterosexual men.

KS is one of the most noticeable signs of AIDS because it produces spots, or lesions, on the skin that look purplish on light skin and brownish black or bluish on dark skin. The lesions usually appear on the face, arms, or legs. They may be small and flat, or they may look like lumps of bubble gum stuck on the skin. KS is diagnosed by examining the lesions, visually and/or with a biopsy (evaluation of cells under a microscope).