Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

The term "non-AIDS-defining cancers" (NADCs) refers to neoplasms other than AIDS-defining malignancies that occur in individuals with HIV infection. The spectrum and incidence of various neoplasms reported among persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has increased, and this emerging problem has contributed to the mortality of HIV-infected persons in the current era of potent antiretroviral therapy (ART). Large, population-based studies involving registry match data have reported a wide range of cancers in association with HIV infection. Incidence of cancer among HIV-infected persons was compared with that of the general population from 1992 to 2003 in a prospective observational study conducted in the United States. However, investigators reported that the incidence of leukemia was only slightly higher in HIV-infected people (standardized incidence ratio, SIR: 2.5; 95 % CI: 1.6-3.8). Except for a higher frequency of mature B or Burkitt’s ALL in HIV-infected patients, the clinical and biologic characteristics of ALL are similar to those observed in non-immunocompromised patients. In the ART era, the treatment of ALL in HIV-positive patients should be identical to that given in non-immunosuppressed individuals.