The study, by professionals from the University of NSW in Australia, reviewed the results of 12 previous trials. 7 of those looked at cancer rates in a total of half a million patients with HIV, while the five other studies examined cancer rates in 31,977 kidney transplant recipients.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS. This virus may be passed from one person to another when infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions come in contact with an uninfected person’s broken skin or mucous membranes.

Transplant recipients have to take drugs that suppress their immune system to prevent their bodies rejecting the transplanted organ, while people infected with HIV also have impaired immune function as a result of their infection, as the HIV virus particularly targets immune cells.