MALIGNANCIES IN UK CHILDREN WITH HIV-INFECTION ACQUIRED FROM MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION

By April 1995, 302 cases of vertically acquired HIV infection had been reported through the British Paediatric Association Surveillance Unit . Over 50% of these children had developed an AIDS indicator disease, including nine malignancies (seven cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NH L) and two of Kaposi's sarcoma). There were two other malignancies tha t were not AIDS indicator diseases. In children less than 5 years of a ge the incidence of NHL was approximately 2500 times greater than expe cted in the UK child population. Three children presented with NHL as their AIDS indicator disease and four developed NHL at a median of 14 (range 10-19) months after the initial diagnosis of AIDS. Six of the s even children died at a median of 6.5 (range 2-14) months after the di agnosis of NHL. The seventh child responded to treatment and is alive nearly four years later Histology was available in five cases, of whic h four were of B cell and one of T cell origin. Epstein-Barr virus was detected in all three patients with NHL where it was sought; all had B cell lymphomas. Although comparatively rare, malignancies occur in c hildren infected with HIV and may be the presenting illness. Paediatri cians now need to consider HIV infection as a predisposing cause of ch ildhood cancer, especially NHL.