Non-Hodgkin lymphoma among young adults with and without aids in Italy

To compare the presentation and prognosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in people with AIDS (PWA) and in the general Italian population, a record link age study was carried out. The fraction of NHLs attributable to HIV/AIDS wa s also estimated, Information from the National AIDS Registry (RAIDS) was l inked with records from 13 cancer registries (CR), covering about 15% of th e Italian population. During the period 1985-94, among PWA ages 15-49, 136 NHLs were identified (8% of all NHLs) and were compared with 1,481 concurre nt incident NHL cases of the same age group among non-PWA, Percentages abov e 13% of all NHLs were registered in the northern areas of Genoa and Varese , i.e,, the most heavily affected by the AIDS epidemic, Between rear prior to and 3.5 years after AIDS diagnosis, PWA showed an overall standardised i ncidence ratio (SIR) for NHL of 302, SIR was particularly high (394) within 3 months after AIDS diagnosis and subsequently declined to 170, SIR was so mewhat higher in females (428) than in males (280) but similar among intrav enous-drug users (299) and other HIV-transmission groups (309), High-grade NHL, particularly immunoblastic and Burkitt's lymphoma, were twice as frequ ent among PWA than non-PWA, Conversely, low-grade NHL were less frequent. E xcept for the high proportion of brain localisation, no clear difference em erged in the pattern of NHL presentation site in PWA compared with non-PWA, At variance with NHL in the general population, among PWA histological gra de had little impact on survival, which overall appeared to be very poor (2 -year survival: 10%; 95% confidence interval: 3%-17%), Our present linkage of RAIDS and CRs represents an efficient tool for the surveillance of trend s in incidence and survival of NHL among PWA in Italy, (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.