Epidemiology of Cervical Adenocarcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma Among Women Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Compared With the General Population in the United States

Abstract

Background: Although cervical cancer risk overall is elevated among women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; WLH), it is unclear whether risks are similarly elevated across histologic subtypes.

Methods: Data from the HIV/AIDS Cancer Match Study, a linkage of 12 US HIV and cancer registries during 1996 -2016, were used. Cervical cancers were categorized as adenocarcinoma (AC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), or other histologic subtype. Standardized incidence ratios compared rates of AC and SCC in WLH to those in general population. For WLH, risk factors for AC and SCC were evaluated using Poisson regression. Five-year survival was estimated by HIV status and histology.

Results: Overall, 62 615 cervical cancers were identified, including 609 in WLH. Compared with the general population, incidence of AC was 1.47 times higher (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-2.05) and SCC was 3.62 times higher among WLH (95% CI: 3.31-3.94). Among WLH, there was no difference in AC rates by race/ethnicity or HIV transmission group, although SCC rates were lower among White women (vs Black) and higher among women who inject drugs (vs heterosexual transmission). Among WLH, 5-year overall survival was similar for AC (46.2%) and SCC (43.8%) but notably lower than for women not living with HIV.

Conclusions: Among WLH, AC rates were modestly elevated, whereas SCC rates were greatly elevated compared with the general population. These findings suggest there may be differences in the impact of immunosuppression and HIV in the development of AC versus SCC, given their common etiology in human papillomavirus infection.

Keywords: adenocarcinoma; cervical cancer; human immunodeficiency virus; squamous cell carcinoma.