title: Clinical Analysis of Five Cases of AIDS-related Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Secondary malignancy is a major life-threatening complication facing patients afflicted with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This study aimed to retrospectively review clinical features and treatment course of five patients with AIDS-associated non-Hodgkin lymphoma (A-NHL) in Jilin Tumor Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five A-NHL patients were retrospectively and consecutively hospitalized at our oncological unit between January 2012 and June 2014. All patients received pre-emptive highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and chemotherapy, and were subsequently followed up at the outpatient clinic. All five patients were male, aged 27-53 years, and afflicted with A-NHL involving upper jaw, right inguinal region, right-side gingiva, mediastinum, or right-side neck. Histology showed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (n = 3) or plasmablastic lymphoma (n = 2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two patients achieved complete remission after HAART and chemotherapy, whereas other three patients required a second-line treatment, with two achieving stable disease and one dying within a follow-up period of 0.5-2 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of the present study showed that A-NHL is a disease often diagnosed in the middle-to-late stages, with diverse clinical manifestations and short overall survival. In the cases reviewed in this study, HAART in combination with standard dose or high-dose chemotherapy, HAART and molecular targeted chemotherapy was administered, and these treatments proved to be effective for improving the prognosis of these patients. Moreover, the CD4+ cell count was important for determining the prognosis of patients.
authors.affiliation: Shubo Zuo, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jilin Tumour Hospital, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Shubo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Na Xu, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jilin Tumour Hospital, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Zhongkun Li, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jilin Tumour Hospital, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhongkun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Na Li, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jilin Tumour Hospital, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Hong Xia, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jilin Tumour Hospital, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Hongtao Ren, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jilin Tumour Hospital, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Huizheng Bao, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jilin Tumour Hospital, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Huizheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bao
keywords: Antiretroviral therapy; Chemotherapy; Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Non-Hodgkin lymphoma