Clinical characteristics and blood product usage in AIDS-associated lymphoma in haemophiliacs: a case-control study.

In order to determine risk factors associated with the development of AIDS-associated lymphoma (AIDS-NHL) in individuals with haemophilia, we undertook a case-control study of 25 patients with AIDS-NHL identified prospectively in the multicentre Hemophilia Malignancy Study (HMS) and 100 haemophilia controls with AIDS matched 1:4 by age and date of AIDS diagnosis. Clinical, laboratory and lifestyle characteristics and blood product usage during the 2 years before seroconversion and AIDS or AIDS-NHL diagnosis were compared between cases and controls. AIDS-NHL cases had higher haemoglobin, platelets, %CD4 and white blood count, with the latter approaching significance, 5700 microL-1 vs. 4000 microL-1, P = 0.063. The proportion of cases receiving anti-retroviral treatment prior to diagnosis was similar to that of AIDS-controls, 72% vs. 86%, but a significantly lower proportion of cases had been treated with intravenous pentamidine, 4% vs. 26%, P = 0.048. There were no differences between cases and controls in prevalence of antibody to hepatitis B or hepatitis C, HIV-related symptoms, lifestyle characteristics, or in the type or amount of blood product usage. Thus, clinical, lifestyle characteristics, antiviral drug treatment and blood product usage appear to have little, if any, effect on the development of AIDS lymphoma in HIV(+) patients with haemophilia.