Please Note: Due to volume considerations, not all questions can be answered. Questions most likely to be answered will be those of general interest to a broad group of visitors to this forum. Questions pertaining to a specific case; requests for diagnosis, medical advice, or second opinion; or requests for opinions about untested alternative therapies will generally not be answered.
Ask the Experts about AIDS-Related Cancers
Lung cancer and HIV
Sep 26, 2002
Some claims have been made in Australia that smoking in HIV+ people caused a much increased incidence of lung cancer above smokers without HIV. Do you know of any evidence of this?
Response from Dr. Dezube
This is indeed correct. Lung cancer is both more prevalent and more aggressive in HIV-infected patients than in non-HIV-infected patients. In both HIV-infected and non-infected patients, lung cancer is predominantly a disease of smokers.
Smoking also is not a great idea since it can lead to head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, bladder cancer, heart disease, stroke, and so on, and so on. Some of the most aggressive cancers, which I have ever seen, have been the lung cancers in HIV-infected persons.
Please remember that this forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not engaged through this
forum in rendering legal or medical advice or professional services. Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible
for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither The Body nor any sponsor is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material.
Questions and messages posted to this forum are not statements of advice, opinion, or information of The Body, Body Health Resources Corporation or any sponsor of this
forum. While neither The Body nor Body Health Resources Corporation regularly reviews posted content, we reserve the right to delete, move, or
edit postings if we deem it appropriate under the circumstances. Visitors submitting questions remain solely responsible for the content of their
messages.
Information provided by experts is general only and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease, or relied upon as
legal or other professional advice. This information is not a substitute for professional advice or care. If you have or suspect you may have a
health or legal problem, you should consult your own health care provider or your attorney.
