Linkage of AIDS and cancer registries has indicated an increase in T-cell lymphomas among individuals infected with the HIV. The characteristics of T-cell versus B-cell lymphoma in HIV-infected patients are not well described. Retrospectively, 11 cases of T-cell lymphoma were identified from the AIDS-Lymphoma Registry at the University of Southern California. These patients were compared with 418 consecutive HIV-seropositive patients with B-cell lymphoma diagnosed and treated within the same time period. T-cell lymphomas comprised 3% of all AIDS lymphomas. Pathologic types included peripheral T-cell lymphoma in 5; anaplastic large cell lymphoma in 3; and angioimmunoblastic, enteropathy type, and human T-cell lymphotropic virus-I-related adult T-cell lymphoma/leukemia in 1 case each. No differences in demographic characteristics, history of prior opportunistic infection, or immunologic characteristics were observed between T-cell and B-cell cases. Extranodal involvement of the skin (36% vs. 2%, P < 0.001) and bone marrow (45% vs. 15%, P = 0.019) was significantly more common in T-cell lymphomas. The median survival of patients with T-cell lymphomas was not significantly different from that of B-cell lymphoma patients (10.6 vs. 6.6 months, P = 0.13). T-cell lymphomas in HIV-infected patients represent a spectrum of pathologic types. T-cell lymphomas differ from B-cell cases in terms of a higher propensity for skin and bone marrow involvement. The median survival of patients with T-cell lymphoma is comparable to that of patients with B-cell AIDS-related lymphoma.
Over time, the epidemiologic and demographic characteristics of AIDS have changed in the United States, while the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy has changed the natural history of the disease. The goal of the study was to ascertain any changes in the epidemiologic, immunologic, pathologic, or clinical characteristics of AIDS-related lymphoma (ARL) over the course of the AIDS epidemic. Records of 369 patients with ARL diagnosed or treated at a single institution from 1982 through 1998 were reviewed. Single institutional data were compared to population-based data from the County of Los Angeles. Significant changes in the demographic profile of patients with newly diagnosed ARL have occurred, with the later time intervals associated with a higher prevalence in women (P = .25), in Latino/Hispanic individuals (P < .0001), and in those who acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) heterosexually (P = .01). These changes were similar in both countywide, population-based analyses and in those from the single institution. The median CD4+ lymphocyte count at lymphoma diagnosis has decreased significantly over the years, from 177/dL in the earliest time period (1982-1986), to 53/dL in the last time period from 1995 to 1998 (P = .0006). The pathologic spectrum of disease has also changed, with a decrease in the prevalence of small noncleaved lymphoma (P = .0005) and an increase in diffuse large cell lymphoma (P < .0001). Despite changes in the use of antiretroviral or chemotherapy regimens, the median survival has not significantly changed.
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