Reaction of HIV screening test for a renal cancer patient confirmed to be uninfected with HIV virus: a case report

Diagnosis of HIV infection and AIDS need to rely on HIV antibody or HIV antigen test internationally, and the test process is divided into preliminary screening test and confirmatory test. The HIV/AIDS screening laboratory of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University has been using electrochemiluminescence (ECL) to screen the patients. A 50-year-old man with his enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan revealing two soft tissue density images were seen in the left kidney came to the hospital for medical treatment. The patient’s postoperative pathological examination revealed (left kidney) renal clear cell carcinoma. The HIV screening tests of the patient several times in perioperative period showed reactivity, but the result of the confirmatory tests of Nanjing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention were negative all the time. False positive HIV results are quite rare in the setting of renal clear cell carcinoma. There must be some substances that can react with the HIV Combi PT designed to detect anti-HIV antibodies of the IgG- and IgM-class as well as HIV p24 antigen in this patient. In conclusion, false positive results of HIV screening test may occur in serum of patients with renal cell carcinoma, and necessary confirmatory tests are needed. When clinicians encounter such problems, confirmatory tests should be conducted according to the guidelines to avoid misdiagnosis.