Immunological studies on opportunistic infection and the development of adult T-cell leukemia.
Three patients with opportunistic infection preceding adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) are presented: a 66-year-old woman with cryptococcosis and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, a 46-year-old man with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and a 55-year-old woman with cryptococcosis. Although, at the first examination, the first two had smoldering type ATL and the third case was an HTLV-I carrier, all three developed overt ATL 14-16 months after the onset of opportunistic infection. It is considered that there is immune suppression already present in HTLV-I carriers and in patients with smoldering ATL, and opportunistic infection is predictive of the development of ATL.
Tashiro
T
T
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Oita Medical University, Japan.
Yamasaki
T
T
Nagai
H
H
Kikuchi
H
H
Nasu
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000754:Anemia, Refractory, with Excess of Blasts / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D002353:Carrier State; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000150:complications