To determine the prevalence and characteristics of lung cancer (LC) in HIV patients and compare them with LC patients from the general population.

All HIV patients diagnosed at three hospitals in Malaga (southern Spain) who developed LC during January 1989-June 2012 were reviewed. They were compared with a sample of patients with LC taken from the Pneumology and Oncology Department of the Hospital Virgen de le Victoria (Malaga) during the same period.

Of the 4721 HIV patients (83% men) followed-up during the study period, 61 (1.29%) developed LC; 82% men, mean age 48 years, all except two smokers, 47.5% with a prior lung infection, and median CD4 cells 237/mm³. Forty (65.5%) patients were on antiretroviral therapy at LC diagnosis (70% had an undetectable viral load). HIV-negative group was older at diagnosis, contained fewer active smokers, greater frequency of the squamous cell carcinoma histological subtype and fewer cases of adenocarcinoma. Presentation was advanced in both groups and the median survival of HIV patients was three months.

LC is a common tumour in HIV patients. It affects men and women equally, with a history of smoking and often a prior opportunistic lung disease. Affected patients are often immunosuppressed and have AIDS.