Malignant Lymphomas in Japanese AIDS Patients

Seven non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphomas (MLs) were found in 25 Japanese AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) patients who died at two hospitals in Tokyo. All of these MLs originated from extranodal organs including the brain (three cases), skin (two cases) liver and adrenal gland. B cell markers were demonstrated in all of them. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen (EBVCA) was demonstrated in 5/7, nuclear antigen (EBNA) in 2/2, the W fragment of EBV DNA by in situ hybridization in 5/7 and the same fragment by PCR in 6/7, indicating high association of these MLs with EBV. The adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), endemic in south-west Japan and known to have a high association with HTLV-I, was not found in this series. The incidence of ML among the present AIDS cases is higher than in any other autopsy reports from western countries, although statistical analysis did not show this to be significant in comparison to some of these reports at a level of p<0.05. In spite of apparent higher incidence, the histopathologic and immunophenotypic characteristics of AIDS-associated MLs in Japan are in accordance with those in western countries. Acta Pathol Jpn 41: 744-750, 1991.