Malignant lymphomas in patients with or at risk for AIDS in Italy

For the first time the presence of a consistent number of malignant lymphomas (95 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 35 with Hodgkin's disease) among persons with human immunodeficiency virus infection has been documented in Europe. In contrast to American patients with malignant lymphomas, who were reported to be predominantly homosexuals, the Italian patients were mostly iv drug abusers. Patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas had an increased incidence of high-grade subtypes and presented an advanced stage with frequent CNS (25 patients) but not anorectal or oral involvement. Patients with Hodgkin's disease had an increased incidence of mixed cellularity and lymphocytic depletion subtypes and stage III and IV disease. The occurrence of malignant lymphomas was correlated with a poor prognosis: median survival in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas was only 4 months, while in patients with Hodgkin's disease it was 15 months.