Hepatocellular carcinoma in HIV-infected patients comes of age: The convergence of epidemiology and treatment effectiveness

The early 21st century has witnessed the maturation of HIV, HBV and HCV epidemics with respect to disease recognition, understanding and medical treatment. Most notably, the availability of safe, potent antiretroviral therapy (ART) in settings with adequate resources has transformed HIV infection into a chronic disease that, for many infected patients, may not substantially limit life expectancy [1,2]. Consequently, chronic medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, viral hepatitis-related liver disease and malignancy have emerged as major causes of morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected patients; many of whom are over the age of 50 [3–7].