Squamous Cell Cancer of Unknown Primary and Primary Breast Cancer in an HIV-Infected Woman

Abstract

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are surviving longer, with an increased risk of cancer. Cancer screening strategies in PLWHA are lacking. We describe the case of a woman with a history of AIDS, who had a nondetectable viral load on treatment. She is an activist, promoting HIV care, but had not undergone routine screening for breast, cervical, or colonic neoplasia. She presented with a left groin mass, which on biopsy proved to be a p16 immuno-histochemical positive squamous cell carcinoma. Anal and cervicovaginal examinations did not show invasive cancer, although high-resolution anoscopy identified high-grade anal dysplasia. A mammogram followed by magnetic resonance imaging showed invasive ductal carcinoma. Her breast cancer was treated with lumpectomy, adjuvant brachytherapy and chemotherapy. The left groin tumor was treated with chemo-radiation. Herein, we also review medical literature concerning anal, cervical, breast, colorectal, and lung cancer screening for PLWHA, which is important for our aging population of PLWHA.