Hodgkin's disease in the setting of human immunodeficiency virus infection

The incidence of Hodgkin's disease appears to progressively increase in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, with the relative risk of developing this malignancy rising from the early phase to the advanced stage of HIV disease. Clinical and pathological features of Hodgkin's lymphoma in HIV-positive subjects differ from those of the general population, showing a higher frequency of unfavourable histological subtypes, advanced stage with frequent extranodal involvement at initial diagnosis, and a poor therapeutic outcome. The optimal therapeutic strategy is still controversial, and median overall survival is short, ranging from 12 to 18 months. In this report cases of Hodgkin's disease are described among over 1000 HIV-infected patients referring to a tertiary care Centre during a 6 y study period.