The following is a summary of “Clonal hematopoiesis in patients with HIV and cancer,” published in the April 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Gillis et al.
Rising cancer deaths among people living with HIV (PWH), despite improved lifespans, suggest a link between HIV and accelerated biological aging, potentially worsening cancer outcomes.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study investigating the association between clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and cancer disparities in HIV (PWH).
They compared the clinical outcomes of CH in PWH and people without HIV (PWoH) with cancer, which included PWH and comparable PWoH based on tumor size, age, tumor sequence, and cancer therapy status. Epigenetic methylation clocks were also used to measure biological aging.
The results showed that in 136 patients with cancer, PWH had double the CH prevalence than similar PWoH (23% vs. 11%, P=0.07). Adjusting for patient characteristics, PWH were four times more likely to have CH than PWoH (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.3-13.9, P=0.02). The impact of CH on survival was most evident in PWH, with a 5-year survival rate of 38% if CH (vs. 59% if no CH), while PWoH had a 5-year survival rate of 75% if CH (vs. 83% if no CH).
Investigators concluded a potentially higher prevalence of CH in PWH compared to PWoH who have the same cancers, suggesting CH was a novel risk factor for poorer outcomes in PWH with cancer.
Source: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae212/7657738