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Evidence is accumulating to indicate that lower CD4-cell counts are linked to higher rates of non–AIDS-defining cancer (AIDS Clin Care Jun 9 2008). The latest such evidence comes from an analysis of 23,437 HIV-infected persons participating in the DAD study.
During 104,921 person-years of follow-up, 298 cancer-related deaths occurred — 110 from AIDS-defining malignancies and 188 from non–AIDS-defining malignancies. Viral load was not closely associated with mortality risk for either group of cancers, but latest CD4-cell count was. The mortality rate for AIDS-defining cancers was 20.1 per 1000 person-years in patients with CD4 counts <50 cells/mm3 versus only 0.1 per 1000 person-years in those with CD4 counts >500 cells/mm3. Mortality rates f…