The profile of human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with invasive cervical cancer in the Polokwane/Mankweng Complex Hospital

Abstract

Introduction Invasive cervical cancer (ICC) constitutes almost 50% of all cancer conditions diagnosed and treated at the Polokwane/Mankweng Hospital Complex (PMHC). HIV infection is also a very common condition. There is no consensus on the relationship between the two clinical conditions among patients treated at PMHC. There is a need to describe the simultaneous occurrence of the two clinical conditions among these patients to define a rational approach to these conditions’ clinical management. Methodology This was a retrospective review of medical records of patients diagnosed with ICC who were treated at PMHC in Limpopo Province, South Africa in 2013. Results Three hundred and twenty-nine medical records were reviewed in this study; 64% of the patients were HIV-negative, and only 35% were HIV-positive. Thirty-five percent of the patients were younger than 50 years of age, followed by those aged 50–59 years (23%). Among women in the age group 30–59 years, the most common ICC stages were IIB and IIIB. In women older than 60 years, stages IIB, IIIA, IIIB and IVA were the most common. In the HIV-positive women, 18% had a CD4 cell count of less than 200/μL, compared to 2% in the HIV-negative women (p <0.05). Among the HIV-negative women, stages IIIB (49.8%) and IIB (24.6%) were the most common, where as among those who were HIV-positive, stages IIIB (55.6%) and IIB (22.6%) dominated. Conclusion This retrospective study did not find any relationship between HIV infection and ICC in patients treated at PMHC. However, it indicated that a significant proportion of HIV-positive women with ICC had lower CD4 cell counts compared to those of HIV-negative women. KEY CONCEPTS: Invasive cervical cancer, Human immunodeficiency virus, Stage, Prevalence, CD4 cell count, Age, Polokwane/Makweng Hospital Complex