The Oncologist, Vol. 10, No. 4, 292-298, April 2005; doi:10.1634/theoncologist.10-4-292 © 2005 AlphaMed Press
T-Cell Lymphoma of the Rectum in a Patient with AIDS and Hepatitis C: A Case Report and Discussiona Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Boston University and Boston Veterans Health Affairs Medical Centers, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; b Department of Radiation Oncology, Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and Boston Veterans Health Affairs Medical Centers, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Correspondence: Richard H. Matthews, M.D., Ph.D., Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. Telephone: 617-232-9500, ext 4457 or ext 5628; e-mail: RHMatthews{at}comcast.net
Primary T-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) occurring in the context of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is uncommon. Here, we report and discuss such a case presenting in the rectum, and review relevant literature. Although typical in some respects, the case is, in other ways, somewhat unusual for an AIDS-related NHL (ARL); ARL tends to be B cell and advanced stage and our case was T cell and stage IE. In addition, the patient suffered from concomitant cirrhosis related to hepatitis C. Chemotherapeutic options for ARL were limited early in the AIDS epidemic due to poor tolerability. Although this has largely been mitigated by the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy, our patient eventually suffered complications of chemotherapy, apparently related more to his liver disease than to either his lymphoma or AIDS, that ultimately brought about his demise.
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