DENVER — HIV patients with cancer should avoid antiretroviral therapy based on protease inhibitors (PIs) if possible, a researcher said here.
In a retrospective analysis, patients on a PI-based regimen had more side effects and were less likely to maintain anti-HIV efficacy 6 months after diagnosis, according to Harrys Torres, MD, of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
On the other hand, patients taking a regimen based on either an integrase inhibitor (INSTI) or and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) had fewer adverse events and better efficacy, Torres reported here at the annual Interscience Conference on Anti-Microbial Agents and Chemotherapy.
The issue is important, Torres said, because non-AIDS defining malignancies have been an increasing issue among HIV patients and now account for about 33% of all HIV-related deaths. Despite that, he said, there is little evidence pointing to the best HIV regimen for such patients.
To help clarify the issue, he and colleagues looked at the safety and efficacy of various HIV regimens among men who were treated for both cancer and HIV at MD Anderson over a 12-year period.
Michael Smith
MedPage Today
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