Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 12, 2026
Chronic, Acute, and Reactivated HIV Infection in Humanized Immunodeficient Mouse Models
Published on: December 3, 2019
HIV-testing and newly-diagnosed malignant lymphomas. The SAKK 96/90 registration study
Giannicola D'Addario1, Alexander Dieterle, Joachim Torhorst
1Fachbereich Onkologie-Hämatologie, Kantonsspital, CH-9007 St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Insights
A Swiss study found 13% of newly diagnosed lymphoma patients were HIV-positive. HIV-positive patients, particularly those with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL), often presented with aggressive disease and B-symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) is an AIDS-defining illness (ADI) in HIV-infected individuals.
- Hodgkin's disease (HD) is a common non-ADI malignancy in HIV-positive cases.
- Existing data often relies on known HIV-positive patients or autopsy series.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the incidence of HIV-positivity in patients with newly diagnosed malignant lymphoma.
- To analyze the characteristics of malignant lymphoma in HIV-infected patients.
- To identify prognostic factors for HIV-positivity in lymphoma patients.
Main Methods:
- A registration study conducted across Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer research (SAKK) centers.
- Data collected from January 1, 1991, to July 31, 1993.
- Evaluation of HIV-status in 400 newly diagnosed malignant lymphoma patients.
Main Results:
- 13% (52 out of 400) of patients with newly diagnosed malignant lymphoma tested HIV-positive.
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) accounted for 72% of cases, with 12.4% being HIV-positive.
- HIV-positive patients frequently presented with B-symptoms, aggressive lymphoma histologies, and extranodal disease.
Conclusions:
- 13% of newly diagnosed malignant lymphoma patients in this cohort were HIV-positive.
- Aggressive lymphoma histologies and B-symptoms are common in HIV-positive lymphoma patients.
- Male gender, young age (26-35), and B-symptoms are prognostic factors for HIV-positivity in NHL.
Abstract:
The association of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and HIV-infection was soon recognized and the Center of Disease Control (CDC) has classified some types of NHL as AIDS-defining illnesses (ADI). Hodgkin's disease (HD) represents the most common type of non ADI malignancy in HIV-infected cases. Commonly, data on malignant lymphoma in this population is collected in known HIV-positive patients or in autopsy-series. This registration study was designed to estimate the incidence of HIV-positivity in patients with newly diagnosed malignant lymphoma. A registration of all patients with newly diagnosed malignant lymphoma and their HIV-status was performed in every center of the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer research (SAKK) from January 1, 1991 to July 31, 1993. Among 474 eligible patients, HIV-status was evaluated in 400 and 52 were tested positive (13%), 42 (81%) of them males. Three of them were newly detected cases (after lymphoma-diagnosis). Three hundred and forty patients (72%) presented with NHL, 42 (12.4%) of them HIV-positive; 33 out of these had aggressive lymphoma. B-symptoms were significantly more frequent in HIV-positive patients. In the 134 patients with HD, 10 (7.5%) tested HIV-positive, mostly presenting with stage IV disease (7), B-symptoms (9) and extranodal disease (7). In conclusion, 13% out of 400 evaluated patients with newly diagnosed malignant lymphoma tested HIV-positive. The study confirms the predominance of aggressive lymphoma histologies and frequent presentation with B-symptoms in HIV-positive patients with NHL. Male gender, young age (26-35 years) and B-symptoms are prognostic factors for HIV-positivity in NHL.
