Pathogenetic parallels and clinical relationships of HIV infection and Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Authors: Rassokhin V. V. , Nekrasova A. V. 
Published: April 2024

Aim: to show the importance of the features of the development of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) against the background of HIV infection, possible clinical relationships and consequences of simultaneous diseases in patients, as well as complex therapy.

 Material and methods. The article presents an analytical review of the problem and retrospective data on 63 patients with HIV[1]associated HL (HIV-HL) who were diagnosed with HL in St. Petersburg hospitals in the period 2000–2017. For the diagnosis of HIV-HL, regulated morphological, immunohistochemical, instrumental and laboratory research methods were used, the tumor stage was determined based on the Cotswolds-modified Ann Arbor classification. The diagnosis of HIV infection was confirmed by the detection of specific antibodies to HIV (and the p24 antigen) during serological and enzyme immunoassay of blood, by immune blotting. The number of copies of HIV RNA and the number of CD4 lymphocytes in the blood of patients were determined using commercial test systems approved for use in the territory of the Russian Federation. The analysis of overall survival was performed using the Kaplan–Meyer method. Statistical processing of the research results was performed using statistical programs MS Excel 2010, GraphPad Prism 8 (GraphPad Software, Inc., USA), SPSS version 22.

Results. The study group was dominated by men (73%), the median age was 32 years, in 16 (25.4%) patients HIV and HL were detected simultaneously. The number of CD4 lymphocytes > 500 cl/μl at the HL debut was noted in 33.3% of patients, patients with severe immunosuppression prevailed (50–250 cl/μl in 20 (31.7%), 250–500 cl/μl in 11 (17.5%), less than 50 cl/μl in 11 (17.5%). The amount of HIV RNA>400 kop/ml was noted in 82.5%, HIV infection at stages 4B-5 was detected in 89% of cases, at the time of detection of HL ART was performed in 16 patients. EBV coinfection (77.8%), cytomegalovirus (60%), viral hepatitis (55.6%) with a predominance of viral hepatitis C, common opportunistic infections (tuberculosis, pneumocystis pneumonia, toxoplasmosis of the brain, common candidiasis), simultaneously occurring from 1 to 3 infections were observed in 77.8%. Stage IV HL was established in 54%, III — in 22%, II — in 24% of patients, the presence of B-symptoms was confirmed in 73% of cases. The predominant histological variant of HIV-HL was nodular sclerosis (58 patients), mixed[1]cell sclerosis in 4 patients, with lymphoid predominance in 1 case. Extranodal lesions were observed in 34 (54%), complications of the tumor process in 33 (37.5%) patients. 42 (66.7%) patients received antitumor treatment for HL: line 1 according to the ABVD scheme — 85.7% (80% achieved PET-negative complete remission (CR), according to the VEASORR esc or VEASORR schemes — 33.3%; line 2 — according to the ICE or DHAP schemes (n=10). An objective response was noted in 4 patients, PET-negative response in 2 of them, partial PET-positive regression in 2 patients. Progression was observed in 2 people. Autologous bone marrow transplantation was performed in 2 patients (in partial PET-positive regression); line 3 (n=3) — chemoimmunotherapy with bendamustine, gemcitabine (2 patients underwent autologous bone marrow transplantation). The cumulative life expectancy of patients for 1 year and 2 years was 44% and 37%, respectively, 1-year overall survival was 75%, 2-year — 60%. The factors negatively affecting survival and life expectancy were tumor progression and complications, ECOG≥2 (p=0.0001), candidiasis, pneumonia (p=0.001), viral hepatitis B and C (p=0.045), lack of antitumor treatment and ART (p=0.0001), age younger than 40 years, central nervous system damage, the presence of 1 or more concomitant infections (p=0.024).

 Conclusion. HIV-HL is one of the most common hematological malignancies, characterized by heterogeneity in its manifestations, polymorphism of pathogenetic and clinical features and relationships. During the dispensary supervision of PLHIV, special attention should be paid to the factors of an unfavorable prognosis of the disease, the timeliness of the appointment of ART and the assessment of the risks of developing lymphoproliferative diseases within the framework of the immune system restoration syndrome (IRIS) in order to increase their survival and quality of life. Further research is needed on the pathogenesis, early diagnosis and effective treatment of lymphomas associated with the human immunodeficiency virus