We already know that liver cancer can be a consequence of long-standing infection with hepatitis B or hepatitis C, especially if they are left untreated. People who have both HIV and hepatitis are at greater risk of liver cancer than other people.
Now, a large European study has found that people who have both HIV and hepatitis B are at greater risk of other types of cancer, including anal cancer, lung cancer and lymphoma.
There were over 17,000 people living with HIV in the study, including 7% who had hepatitis B. Data were collected over 18 years.
Each year, 84 in 10,000 people had a non-liver cancer. In people who also had hepatitis B, that figure rose to 105 in 10,000 people.
The risk was greater for people whose hepatitis B was not kept under control with medication, and for people who were not taking one of the drugs that are effective against both HIV and hepatitis B – lamivudine, emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil or tenofovir alafenamide.
The results therefore show the importance of suppressing both hepatitis B and HIV with effective treatments. They add to previous studies showing that people with HIV and hepatitis C are at increased risk of lymphoma.