Cancer is the second-leading cause of death among people living with HIV in Ontario. HIV in and of itself is considered carcinogenic. However detailed, local information on the risk and prevalence among people with HIV in Ontario doesn’t exist.
How many people with HIV in Ontario have been diagnosed with cancer? Which cancers are most common among people with HIV in Ontario? Could HIV care be used as a pathway and tool for cancer prevention? This kind of program for cancer prevention has never been explored.
Gathering evidence on cancers among people living with HIV in Ontario.
We will use existing, provincial health-research data (i.e. from the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study, administrative health data at ICES and the Ontario Cancer Registry), to calculate cancer incidence, prevalence and mortality among people with HIV, and compare these numbers to the general population of Ontario.
We will then examine the role of HIV care and how it affects HIV viral load and immune function to reduce cancer risk and improve patients’ general health and wellbeing.
We’ll use our findings to help plan effective cancer-prevention and care strategies in Ontario, and help guide the development of more holistic and effective HIV-care programs.
