Long-term follow-up on HIV infected and non-infected women with cervical cancer from Tanzania: staging, access to cancer-directed therapies and associated survival in a real-life remote setting.

Background: Worldwide 85% of cervical cancer (CC) related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is burdend by an overlapping high incidence of CC as well as HIV infection, a risk factor for HPV associated disease progression. Recent upscaling of CC screening activities increased the number of CC diagnoses in a previous unscreened population.

HPV Type Distribution in HIV Positive and Negative Women With or Without Cervical Dysplasia or Cancer in East Africa.

Background: Women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa are at increased risk to develop cervical cancer (CC), which is caused by persistent infection with 13 oncogenic human papilloma viruses (HR-HPVs). It is important to accurately identify and target HIV-positive women at highest risk to develop CC for early therapeutic intervention.

Methods: A total of 2,134 HIV+ and HIV- women from South-West Tanzania were prospectively screened for cervical cancer and precancerous lesions.