ANAPLASTIC LARGE-CELL (CD30 KI-1(+)) LYMPHOMA IN HIV+ PATIENTS - CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN A GROUP OF 10 PATIENTS/

We compared the clinical and pathological features of 10 HIV+ CD30(+) anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) patients with 28 HIV+ CD30(-) no n-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients, The incidence of ALCL among 38 HI V+ systemic NHL patients was 26%, Clinical features were similar in al l the HIV-related NHL cases, but ALCL patients seemed to differ from H IV+ CD30(-) systemic NHL only in the greater frequency of lung tumours (40% v 21%) without concomitant mediastinal mass, bone marrow (75% v 18%) and gastroenteric involvement (40% v 25%). Among the HIV+ ALCL pa tients, histologic subtypes did not differ in frequency from ALCL in t he general population, The B phenotype was predominant (50%) as in oth er HIV-related NHL. EBV genoma, studied in all HIV- ALCL patients, was present in 3, 10 by in situ hybridization (ISH) and in 5/10 cases usi ng PCR. The clinical course of lymphomas was similar in CD30 positive and negative NHL patients. Overall survival also was short in our seri es, particularly in HIV+ ALCL (84 v 188 d), probably because of profou nd immuno-depression of the ALCL patients.Our findings suggest that se vere immunodepression due to HIV infection determines - more than any other factor - the clinical features of HIV+ ALCL, making them very si milar to those of other high-grade systemic HIV+ NHL.