Clinical aspects of AIDS-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

The association of malignant lymphoma with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been recognized since early in the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic. Important clues regarding the etiology of AIDS-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (AIDS-NHL) and estimates of the future incidence of AIDS-NHL have been derived from epidemiologic studies. Recent epidemiologic and cohort studies reviewed in this article have confirmed that the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is high in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection, and increase with the duration of severe immunodeficiency in patients receiving antiretroviral therapies. A recent retrospective analysis of clinical features associated with AIDS-NHL described two groups of patients possessing distinct prognostic features. Finally, a number of new observations relating to the molecular and pathogenic mechanism underlying the development of AIDS-NHL have recently been described. The role of Epstein-Barr virus in the pathogenesis of AIDS-NHL continues to be enigmatic, and there may be multiple mechanisms contributing to the development of lymphoma, even in an individual patient.