Meningitis with Burkitt like B-cell lymphoma in HIV infection

Malignant lymphoma with meningeal involvement was detected in 7 patients with stage IV HIV infection. The diagnosis of lymphoma was made at a maximum of four months before discovery of meningeal involvement. In our seven cases the lymphoma was B-cell type, one case expressed Kappa chains, four cases demonstrated Lambda chains and in two cases differentiation was not possible. A review of findings in all HIV positive patients treated in the same period revealed 10 non-Hodgkin lymphomas of the B-cell type, though meningeal and cerebral involvement was observed only in B-cell lymphoma of the Burkitt type.