Neoplasia of plasma cells with atypical presentation and infection by the human immunodeficiency virus. A presentation of two cases

Neoplasia of plasma cells acquires special clinical characteristics in pati ents infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These patients are muc h younger at the time of diagnosis, and when they are compared with the gen eral population they show an atypical clinical evolution, with a greater fr equency of solitary plasmacytomas, less evidence of a monoclonal plasmatic component, or greater aggressiveness of the neoplastic process. This paper provides the most significant data on two patients infected by HIV and diag nosed for plasma cell neoplasia. Recent pathogenetic hypotheses for plasma cell neoplasias that include immune alterations, chronic viral infections, and hyperexpression of cytokines exist in patients infected by HIV, and thi s could suggest that this type of neoplasia is another malignant haematolog ical process associated with AIDS. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.