HIV Infection With Hodgkin's Disease: The Virus Makes a Difference

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People infected with the human immunodeficiency virus may have a greater risk of Hodgkin's disease, display an unusual form of this rare cancer, and require a different approach to therapy than the usual Hodgkin's patient, according to data presented recently at the first National AIDS Malignancy Conference, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and held in Bethesda, Md.

Two other cancers—Kaposi's sarcoma and non-Hodgkin's lyrnphoma—have long been associated with HIV or AIDS. But only in the last few years have published accounts begun to suggest a connection between AIDS and other malignancies, including Hodgkin's disease, anal cancer, rnelanoma, and more (see Stat Bite).

Among these “other” cancers, Hodgkin's disease has one of the strongest and most according to NCI's Charles S. Rabkin, M.D. Rabkin told the meeting participants that four major studies seeking links between AIDS and cancer have revealed an increased nsk of Hodgkin's disease that is “relatrvely small but statistically significant.”