International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

HIV drugs have been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of pre-cancerous cervical lesions in infected women in South Africa.

Women who use highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) are more than twice as likely to display signs of regression of these symptoms than those without the medication, states the report published in the online edition of AIDS.

Cervical cancer is caused by high-risk strains of the human papollomavirus, which is transmitted sexually. The disease is classified as an AIDS-defining illness as most incidences occur in HIV infected women in countries with limited medical resources.  

"In addition, we found that among those women with a baseline normal smear, those on HAART were significantly less likely to develop an abnormality in the future," concluded the investigators.

According to the latest GLOBOCAN statistics, more than 85 per cent of the global cervical cancer burden occurs in developing countries, where the disease accounts for 13 per cent of all female cancers.

Posted by David Smith