Head and Neck Cancers among HIV-positive patients: A five year retrospective study from a Johannesburg hospital,

Introduction: Cancer is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among HIV infected individuals, but there is not much information in South Africa regarding Head and Neck AIDS-defining cancers (ADCs).
Aim: To profile head and neck cancers (HNC) in HIV-positive patients in the Department of Oral Pathology, Wits Oral Health Centre over a five-year period.
Methods and data analysis: A records-based retrospective descriptive study with an analytic component. Archived records (2009 to 2013) in the Department of Oral Pathology were reviewed. HIV serology results, CD4+T-cell counts and the viral load were verified from National Health Laboratory Service archived records. IBM SPSS 23.0 was used for data analysis.
Results: 1605 cases of HNC were recorded, with 389 (24.2%) confirmed HIV-positive (mean age of 38  11.0 years), of whom 52.3% were females. The likelihood of patients with HIV infection to be diagnosed with Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) was significantly greater at 35.7% and 34.2% respectively with a p value < 0.05, compared with any other cancer type.
Conclusion: KS and NHL, both ADCs, were the two most common HNCs diagnosed among HIV-positive patients. Third was Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a Non-AIDS Defining Cancer (NADC).