Hodgkin's disease in homosexual men. An AIDS-related phenomenon?

Five cases of Hodgkin's disease in young homosexual men at risk for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are reported. The mixed cellularity histologic subtype was present in each. Two also showed features of lymphocyte depletion. Four of the five patients had pathologic stage IIIB or IVB disease at presentation. In the fifth, recurrent Hodgkin's disease developed in a previously irradiated field. Three patients had opportunistic infections characteristic of AIDS. Hodgkin's disease may pursue a more fulminant course in patients at risk for AIDS and may itself be a manifestation of AIDS in this high-risk population.