[Six cases of HTLV-I associated bronchiolo-alveolar disorder (HABA)]

A new clinicopathological state related to HTLV-I infection was found in patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) and idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP). This specific state with chronic and progressive respiratory symptoms caused by bronchiolar or alveolar disorder was characterized by smoldering adult T-cell leukemia or the HTLV-I carrier state known as HTLV-I associated bronchiolo-alveolar disorder (HABA). The clinical features of 5 cases with the bronchiolar type of HABA and one case with alveolar type of HABA were described and were compatible with the criteria of DPB and IIP, respectively. Long-term subclinical infection of HTLV-I was suspected to play an important role in the pathogenesis of HABA. Furthermore, the investigation of HABA might yield a clue to the unknown etiology of DPB and IIP.