[Adult T-cell leukemia associated with HTLV-1 in a HIV-2 seropositive African].
BACKGROUND
The aim of this report is to describe an HIV-2 seropositive patient from Mali who had adult-T cell Leukaemia/Lymphoma associated with HTLV-I infection.


METHODS
The patient presented with erythroderma and foliate lymphocyte leukaemia. Skin biopsy showed an epidermotropic lymphoma. Tumoural cells expressed a mature T-cell phenotype CD4+/CD25+. High anti-HTLV-I titers and the evidence of monoclonal integration of HTLV-I provirus within circulating lymphoid cells led to the confirmation of HTLV-I as the causal agent in tumour cell transformation. HIV-2 serology was positive.


CONCLUSIONS
Sub-Saharan Africa is a vast reservoir of HTLV-I virus with at least 5 million infected persons. Cases of adult-T cell Leukaemia/Lymphoma in Africans are exceptional. Lack of sufficient knowledge of the disease could partially explain this discrepancy. The main differential diagnosis in dermatology is primary T-cell lymphomas of the skin, particularly mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome.
Mahé
A
A
Institut Marchoux, Bamako, République du Mali.
Gessain
A
A
Huerre
M
M
Valensi
F
F
Kéita
S
S
Bobin
P
P
D000328:Adult; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D003873:Dermatitis, Exfoliative / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity; D015497:HIV-1; D015498:HIV-2; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology
Leucémie/lymphome T de l'adulte associée au HTLV-I chez un Africain séropositif pour le VIH 2.