Loading...
Although the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has decreased since the introduction of potent antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-positive patients continue to have a higher risk for this malignancy than their HIV-negative peers. After diagnosis, do they also have worse outcomes?
To find out, investigators reviewed data from all NHL cases diagnosed between 1996 and 2005 within a single healthcare system in California; 259 of the cases were in HIV-positive patients and 8230 in HIV-negative ones. At the time of NHL diagnosis, 51% of the HIV-positive patients had a CD4 count <200 cells/mm3, 52% had a prior AIDS-defining illness, and 58% had received ART.
Nearly 60% of HIV-positive patients died within 2 years after NHL diagnosis, compared wi…