A striking feature of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic to date is the high incidence of otherwise extremely rare cancers in certain AIDS risk groups. Likewise, as the epidemic has progressed, there appear to be changes in the cancer experience of this special immunosuppressed group -- with a decline in the proportion of new AIDS patients with Kaposi's sarcoma, and an increase in other malignancies such as Burkitt- type lymphomas. To date these trends have not been rigorously studied in a population-based sample. San Francisco is one of the first areas in the United States in which the AIDS epidemic was observed, and represents trends which presage those which will occur later in the rest of the country. Fortuitously, the San Francisco area is also served with a population-based cancer registry, which together with well-studied features of AIDS cases in the area, will allow a first evaluation of the AIDS-cancer association. The overall objective of this project is to establish a baseline estimate of the spectrum of cancer associated with diagnosed acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients and with individuals tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This will be accomplished via record linkage between the population-based cancer registry serving the San Francisco- Oakland Metropolitan Statistical (SF-0 MSA) area since 1969 and two well-studied AIDS-related subpopulations: 1. The San Francisco AIDS Surveillance Registry. The resulting linked data set will enable us to compute the actual rate of cancer among AIDS patients, and identify the full range of tumor types arising in this population. 2. The San Francisco Mens Health Study. This cohort will provide the opportunity to evaluate a variety of additional risk factors for the cancer outcomes identified in group 1 above, and serve as a population-based sample for HIV-positive associations. We believe this project provides an unusual opportunity to use existing data resources to not only describe the AIDS-cancer association, but to begin to unlock important features in the etiology and natural history of both diseases.
| Reynolds, P; Saunders, L D; Layefsky, M E et al. (1993) The spectrum of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated malignancies in San Francisco, 1980-1987. Am J Epidemiol 137:19-30 |
| Reynolds, P; Layefsky, M E; Saunders, L D et al. (1990) Kaposi's sarcoma reporting in San Francisco: a comparison of AIDS and cancer surveillance systems. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 3 Suppl 1:S8-13 |
