An apparent doubled risk of cancer among people living with HIV appears to be a consequence almost entirely of elevated rates of cancers related to smoking and other viruses, aidsmap reports. Publishing their findings in the journal AIDS, Danish researchers studied 3,503 people who received HIV care between 1995 and 2011 and compared them with 12,979 matched controls.

The HIV population experienced 157 cancer diagnoses, compared with 255 among the control group. The risk of cancer was twice as high for people with HIV when compared with the controls.

There was an 11.5-fold increased incidence of cancers related to viral infections and a 2.8-fold increased rate of cancers related to smoking among the HIV-positive participants when compared with the controls. As for other cancers, there was no difference in incidence between the two groups.

To read the aidsmap story, click here.

To read the study abstract, click here.