Lymphomas associated with HIV infection

Lymphomagenesis in HIV positive patients is a complex phenomenon not yet completely understood (Karp and Broder, 1992). The great majority of NHL are of the B cell type. Burkitt lymphoma seems to develop early during the evolution of HIV infection in patients with a CD4 count above 200/microliter. MYC is rearranged in the majority of the cases. EBV latent infection is observed in 30-45%. EBV status is characterized by a negativity for EBNA2 and LMP1 The main sites of the tumour are the lymph node and the bone marrow. Diffuse large cell lymphomas, mostly represented by immunoblastic lymphomas with plasmacytoid differentiation and by centroblastic lymphomas rich in immunoblasts, are a late event in HIV infection, in patients with a low CD4 count (often below 50/microliter). The prognosis is worse than in Burkitt and Burkitt like lymphoma. MYC is rearranged in about 30-40% of the cases, whereas more than 70% are EBV positive. EBV status is characterized by a positivity for both EBNA2 and LMP1. B type ALC lymphomas are more frequently associated with EBV than in the general population and exhibit the same EBV status as diffuse large cell lymphomas. HD occurs at any stage of HIV infection. The majority of patients are in clinical stage III or IV at the time of diagnosis, and HIV associated HD shows a more aggressive course than non-HIV HD. Many cases remain difficult to classify; instead, the immunophenotype of neoplastic cells is similar to that in HD occurring in the general population. Histiocytes and epithelioid cells are even more numerous than T lymphocytes, and the CD4:CD8 ratio is low. Neoplastic cells are EBV positive in most or all cases, although they are consistently HIV negative by in situ hybridization. Lymphomagenesis seems to be very complex, with multiple agents acting together or successively. EBV, other viruses, rearrangement of various genes and production of cytokines all seem to have major roles in addition to immune deficiency.