The influence of antiretroviral therapy on clinical aspects of HIV-related lymphoma.

Abstract

“ The use of cART during chemotherapy is also controversial. However, our recommendation is to give cART concomitantly during chemotherapy, because antiretrovirals have been shown to decrease the risk of death and improve the prognosis of lymphoma ” Similar to the other immunosuppressed patients, individuals with HIV infection have an increased incidence of lymphomas. However, since 1996, the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has modified the natural history of some infections and malignancies, including lymphomas, which may affect HIV-infected individuals. The prognosis of both non-Hodgkin (NHL) and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) has drastically improved in the cART era. The different chemotherapy regimens used in the general population are currently being administered to treat HIV-related NHL and HL with similar results to those obtained in the HIV-negative population. Several epidemiological studies have confirmed that the incidence of HIV-related lymphomas has decreased in the cART era along with other AIDS defining malignancies. On the other hand, the incidence of non-AIDS-defining cancers has increased [1 , 2] . However, lymphoma is still the most frequent malignancy among HIV-infected individuals and a frequent neoplastic cause of death among HIV-infected patients [2 , 3] . A better control of the HIV infection has been observed concomitant with the decrease in the incidence of lymphoma in the cART era. However, the changes in the incidence of HIV-related