Anal cancer is one of the most significant and underrecognized cancer risks facing Americans living with HIV — and the tools to prevent and detect it at its most treatable stage already exist.
A new CIDRAP analysis published July 1, 2026 confirms what HIV specialists have known for years but has not been communicated clearly enough to the patients who need to act on it: people whose HIV is not well controlled face 8.6 times the risk of developing HPV-related anal cancer compared to those without HIV. And even people with well-controlled HIV face a risk 3.9 times higher than average.
