According to a new study, women infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are likely or are more susceptible to developing lung cancer than women in the general population, simply because they are much more likely to smoke cigarettes.

Writing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dr. Alexandra M. Levine, at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, and colleagues note, “People with HIV, have a much higher risk for many cancers. Still, it is unclear whether HIV infection plays a role in the development of lung cancer”.

As a part of their study, they compiled huge data, comparing lung cancer cases in 2,651 HIV-infected and 898 at-risk but uninfected women, who were, on an average 35 years old, with lung cancer cases estimated to occur among similarly aged women in the general population.

The research team reports, “We found a substantially increased risk of lung cancer among both HIV-infected and at-risk uninfected women compared with population-based expectations”.

“As such, the development and implementation of smoking cessation programs aimed at HIV-infected persons will be of increasing importance”, the scientists wrote.

One significant revelation in the outcome of the research was that there were no lung cancer cases among the women who were lifetime non-smokers.