Managing HIV and Hodgkin lymphoma in the twenty-first century

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is more frequent in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection than in immunocompetent patients. The relationship between the immune system and HL is complex. Whilst the incidence of HL in HIV patients has most likely increased since the introduction of combined anti-retroviral therapy (cART), there is no doubt that the outcomes for patients with HIV and HL (HIV-HL) have improved since its introduction. Improved CD4 counts and risk-adapted treatment schedules have resulted in outcomes for patients with HIV-HL that are comparable to those in HIV-negative patients with HL. Thus, HIV-HL should be treated in the same way as HL in immunocompetent patients, including the use of salvage chemotherapy and autologous transplant in the relapsed setting in HIV-HL. Along the same lines, patients with HIV-HL should not be excluded from trials based on their immune status alone.