NK/T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a HIV-positive patient

J Hematop. 2010 Mar 4;3(1):35-40. doi: 10.1007/s12308-010-0057-5.

Abstract

NK/T lymphomas have rarely been reported in HIV/AIDS patients. Here we report a case of a 37-year-old woman, with AIDS and a recent diagnosis of Kaposi sarcoma in a mesenteric lymph node, who presented with extra-ocular nerve palsies and gastrointestinal bleeding. A small intestine resection specimen revealed an extra-nodal NK/T cell lymphoma, nasal type. The unique presentation of this rare and aggressive lymphoma in the setting of AIDS and Kaposi sarcoma underscores the importance of maintaining a broad differential diagnosis when evaluating a malignant neoplasm from a HIV-positive patient.

Keywords: AIDS; HIV; Kaposi sarcoma; Natural killer/T cell lymphoma.