HIV-associated lymphomas: A clinicopathological study from India

Background: Although there is a high burden of HIV-positive cases in India, there is very little published data on the prevalence and pathological profile of malignancies occurring in these patients. Aims: The current study was undertaken to analyze the clinicopathological profile of HIV-positive patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study over a 6-year period consisting of histopathology slide and clinical chart review of HIV-positive patients with lymphomas. Results: Of a total of 3470 HIV-positive patients during the 6-year period of study, the number of HIV patients diagnosed with lymphomas was 26. The mean duration between HIV seropositivity and development of lymphoma was 12 months. Seven patients were diagnosed as HIV positive during the course of investigations after a lymphoma diagnosis. The male to female ratio was 5.5:1 and the mean CD4 count, 171/mm³. Among the 26 cases, 3 were diagnosed with classical HL and the rest with NHL. B-cell lymphomas predominated with 19 cases. Among the NHLs, plasmablastic lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma were the common subtypes with no cases of either Burkitt Lymphoma or primary CNS lymphoma. The median duration of follow-up was 1 year. Ten cases died during the course of treatment, 11 cases achieved complete remission. Conclusions: This is one of the few studies from India documenting the clinicopathological features of HIV-associated lymphomas. It is interesting that in many cases, HIV positivity was detected during the course of investigations after a lymphoma diagnosis.