Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas of the Oral Cavity in AIDS Patients in a Reference Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Argentina: Report of Eleven Cases and Review of the Literature

Introduction Extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were commonly described in AIDS patients and are related with an atypical morphology and aggressive clinical course. Materials and Methods In this single institutional study we evaluated the epidemiological, clinical, immunological, virological, histopathological and the outcome of eleven HIV/AIDS patients with oral cavity lymphomas (OCL). Results Nine were males and seven intravenous drug abusers. The median of age was 33 years and the median of CD4 T cell counts at the time of diagnosis was 97 cell/µL. The majority of tumors presented as large and ulcerated masses involving the gingiva, the palate and the jaw. Six of these tumors were diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL); three were Burkitt’s lymphomas and the final case was a plasmablastic lymphoma. An association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was found in three of the ten tested cases by in situ hybridization (EBER 1 and 2 probes) and immunohistochemistry (LMP-1). Human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in only one neoplasm. Six patients died without specific treatment; four received chemotherapy and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and three of them presented a prolonged survival. Discussion Combination of HAART and chemotherapy should modify the poor prognosis of AIDS patients with OCL.