Cervical neoplasia in women with HIV infection.

HIV infections in women now account for 40% of all HIV infections worldwide, and the majority of new infections are due to heterosexual transmission. In the United States, 12% of AIDS cases occur in women and in certain high prevalence areas such as Brooklyn, New York, 25% of cases are in women. Both squamous cell neoplasia of the cervix and HIV infection are, in part, sexually transmitted diseases, with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus infection the implicated viral carcinogen associated with cervical cancer. Therefore, an association between cervical cancer and AIDS can be anticipated on the basis of common sexual behavioral risk factors. The author summarizes what we know about the diagnosis and management of women with these problems.