HIV prevalence among cervical (pre)cancer diagnoses in Suriname - a retrospective population study

Q: What was the main objective of the study?

To determine HIV prevalence in women with (pre)cancerous cervical lesions in Suriname and to evaluate their retention in HIV care.

Q: How were HIV prevalence and positivity measured?

HIV test coverage and HIV positivity ratio were determined by matching pathology data with the national HIV test database.

Q: What did the study find about retention in HIV care?

Median time in care differed by treatment status: women with cervical cancer not on ART had a median of 8 months, while those starting ART had a median of 4 years; for precancer stages the medians were 5 and 10 years, respectively.

Sep 21, 2026

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Objective: determine HIV prevalence among women with (pre)cancerous cervical lesions in Suriname and assess retention in HIV care. Methods: retrospective population study of all women diagnosed with (pre)invasive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN I–III) or cervical cancer in the only pathology department from 2010–2020. Matching pathology data with national HIV test records quantified test coverage and HIV positivity; retention up to 2022 was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier and log-rank tests.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages10

Reading Time25 min

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Abstract

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Original research | HIV prevalence among cervical (pre)cancer diagnosesin Suriname: a retrospective population study
Deborah Stijnberg 1, Regillio Charles2, Mike Mc Kee3, Mikel Chan2, Antoon Grunberg4, Ward Schrooten5, and Malti Adhin 1
Suggested citation Stijnberg D, Charles R, Mc Kee M, Chan M, Grunberg A, Schrooten W, et al. HIV prevalence among cervical (pre)cancer diagnoses in Suriname: a retrospective population study. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2024;48:e122 . [https://doi.org/10.26633/](https://doi.org/10.26633/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.26633/)[RPSP.2024.122](RPSP.2024.122) | | | | --- | --- | --- | | ABSTRACT | Objective. To determine the prevalence of HIV in women with (pre)cancerous cervical lesions in Suriname and their retention in care.
Methods. A retrospective population study including all women diagnosed with (pre)invasive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN I to III or cervical cancer) in the only pathology department, during 2010–2020. The HIV test coverage and the HIV positivity ratio were determined through matching pathology data with the national HIV test database. The relation between retention in HIV care up to 2022 and different covariates was determined through Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and log-rank tests.
Results. There were 2 901 (1 395 CIN I, 396 CIN II, 444 CIN III, and 666 cervical cancer) diagnoses of (pre) invasive cervical neoplasia. An overall HIV test coverage of 57.5% and a positivity ratio of 5.8% were found, with no difference among the (pre)cancer stages. The undiagnosed prevalence (women not previously known HIV-positive at cervical diagnosis) was 1.6% and 2.9% among precancer and cancer diagnoses, respectively. The median time in care of women with cervical cancer was 8 months for those not on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 4 years for those starting ART. Among women with precancer stages this was 5 and 10 years, respectively (p < 0.05) .
Conclusions. HIV testing, followed by treatment initiation when found HIV-positive, should be prioritized in women diagnosed with cervical neoplasia. This will enhance the individual clinical outcomes and facilitate the control of the HIV epidemic in Suriname. | | | Keywords | HIV infections; uterine cervical neoplasms; retrospective studies; Suriname. | | | Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a global | | One of the most prevalent STIs is human papillomavirus | | public health problem, with an estimated 9.9 million peo- | | (HPV) (2), which is the major etiologic agent of cervical (pre) | | ple living with HIV in 2023. The risk of HIV transmission | | cancer lesions (3–5) . Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most | | increases when other sexually transmitted infections (STI) are | | common cancer among females, with approximately 570 000 | | present (1) . Given the similar epidemiologic risk factors for | | cases and 311 000 deaths annually (6) . A higher incidence of | | transmission and the potentiation between infectious patho- | | cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) has been reported in | | gens, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the | | women living with HIV (7, 8) . This correlates with the higher | | importance of strategies addressing the combined disease | | prevalence of HPV (54% versus 27%) in people living with HIV | | burden. | | (9). Women living with HIV are six times more likely to progress | | 1 Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname 􀀍 Deborah | | 3 National AIDS Program, Paramaribo, Suriname | | Stijnberg, deborah | .[stijnberg@uvs.edu](stijnberg@uvs.edu) | 4 Independent researcher, Paramaribo, Suriname | | 2 Academic Hospital Paramaribo, Paramaribo, Suriname | | 5 Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium | This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

FAQs

What was the main objective of the study?

To determine HIV prevalence in women with (pre)cancerous cervical lesions in Suriname and to evaluate their retention in HIV care.

How were HIV prevalence and positivity measured?

HIV test coverage and HIV positivity ratio were determined by matching pathology data with the national HIV test database.

What did the study find about retention in HIV care?

Median time in care differed by treatment status: women with cervical cancer not on ART had a median of 8 months, while those starting ART had a median of 4 years; for precancer stages the medians were 5 and 10 years, respectively.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Eden