Survey on HIV, HBV and HCV screening practices in cancerology, France

HIV testing is recommended of time of cancer diagnosis, HBV and HCV screening because of the risk of reactivation with certain anticancer drugs. This is o cross-sectional study. The objectives were to assess the screening practices in cancer patients and the satisfaction of professionals in the event of use of the CancerHIV network. A questionnaire drafted by the CancerHIV expert and the OncoPoca-Corse Regional Cancer Network (RCN) was distributed in the region at the end of 2018 (part 1: V1) before being extended to the national level via the CancerHIV network (part 2: V2). Participation reached 160 and 130 respondents (V1 and V2, respectively). At the initial cancer assessment, 23% of respondents declared that they systematically screened for HIV at V1 (V2: 17%), 25% for HBV (V2: 20%) and 24% for HCV (V2: 19%). Before immunotherapy, the rates were 54% for HIV in V1 (V2: 52%), 57% for HBV (V2: 60%) and 55% for HCV (V2: 57%). Among the respondents, satisfaction when requesting a regional or national remedy was high (almost 100%). Screening for HIV, HBV and HCV allows supervised prescription of immunosuppressive or cytotoxic treatment to a potentially immunosuppressed patient. This study, resulting of an original collaboration between a RCN and o notional expert network, underlines the lock of screening at the 2 examined stages of patient care, and the need for raising practitioners' awareness to recommendations.

Automated summary

The study assessed screening practices in cancer patients and professional satisfaction with the CancerHIV network, revealing low rates of HIV, HBV, and HCV screening at the initial cancer assessment stage. However, satisfaction with regional or national treatment options was high among respondents.