Conjunctival squamous-cell carcinoma associated with HIV infection in Kampala, Uganda.

ABSTRACT

PIP: The incidence of conjunctival squamous-cell carcinoma in Kampala, Uganda, was 6/million/year from 1970 until 1988, and it has increased to 35/million/year in 1992. Between February 1990 and February 1991, HIV tests were performed on all 48 patients who presented with conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma of the eye. A comparison was made with matched controls suffering from other eye diseases. 36 (75%) of the cancer patients were seropositive as compared with 9 (19%) of the controls. The cancerous tumors started as a whitish swelling in the limbus and rapidly increased in size. This study showed a relative risk for conjunctival tumors associated with HIV infection of 13:0. It appears from the scarcity of reports that these tumors are uncommon in HIV-infected subjects in the US and Europe. This would reflect the fact that before the AIDS epidemic, these tumors were more common in equatorial Africa than elsewhere, leading to the possibility that the combination of HIV-induced immunosuppression, conjunctival papilloma virus infections, and intense exposure to ultraviolet light may hasten the development of these tumors.