• Caroline M Behler and Lawrence D Kaplan.
• Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-1270, USA. caroline.behler@ucsf.edu
• Curr Opin Oncol. 2006 Sep 1;18(5):437-43.

Purpose Of ReviewHuman immunodeficiency virus infection is associated with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Even with a decrease in AIDS-defining illnesses after the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy, HIV-associated non-Hodgkin lymphoma remains an important problem.Recent FindingsLow CD4+ T-lymphocyte count, disease stage, performance status, serum lactate dehydrogenase, and number of extranodal sites of disease are all important prognostic factors for HIV-non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Recent studies have examined the role of infusional chemotherapy, as well as immunotherapy, in the treatment of aggressive HIV-non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed or refractory HIV-non-Hodgkin lymphoma. New developments in the association of viral infection and pathogenesis of certain subtypes of HIV-non-Hodgkin lymphoma have also recently been reported.SummaryOutcomes of HIV-non-Hodgkin lymphoma are improving with the routine use of highly active antiretroviral therapy and combination chemotherapy. For aggressive HIV-non-Hodgkin lymphoma, infusional chemotherapy regimens are well tolerated and lead to complete response in about 50-75% of cases and a 2-3 years overall survival of 40-60%. The potential benefit of adding rituximab to combination chemotherapy may be offset by infectious complications in severely immunosuppressed patients. HIV-associated Burkitt lymphoma should be treated with an intensive regimen rather than standard cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone-like chemotherapy. Autologous stem cell transplantation should be considered for selected patients with relapsed or refractory HIV-non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

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