New research has found that patients with the HIV infection are at a higher risk for a number of cancers, reports WebMD Health News. While the AIDS virus can lead to many health issues, it is not the only factor in the cancers its sufferers are at risk for.

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente analyzed the health records of more than 236,000 people throughout a 12-year period, nearly nine percent of whom had HIV.

“The incidence rates of six of 10 cancers were markedly elevated in HIV patients,” said Dr. Michael Silverberg, leader of the study.

According to the statistics, those with HIV are at “199-fold higher risk of Kaposi’s sarcoma and a 15-fold high risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma,” both of which indicate that the HIV patient has AIDS. There is also an increased risk for anal cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma (previously Hodgkin’s disease), melanoma and liver cancer.

One factor that leads to the cancers is a low number of CD4 T-cells, which signifies weakened immunity.

“For most cancers studied – eight of 10 – HIV patients with the lowest CD4 had higher rates,” Silverberg told the news provider. He suggests embracing other healthy activities to help reduce one’s risk of developing cancer, combining “routine prevention activities, such as smoking cessation, with earlier HIV treatment to help maintain a paitent’s immune system.”

The Kaiser Permanente study was published in this week’s edition of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.