Choriocarcinoma in an AIDS patient--relapsing but not fatal.

Choriocarcinoma is associated with high mortality in immunocompromised patients, in contrast to a good prognosis in immunocompetent individuals. Respiratory failure due to metatstatic choriocarcinoma is associated with high mortality in any patient. We report a case of a woman with AIDS that survived metastatic choriocarcinoma and respiratory failure. We also observed that in contrast to some in vitro studies, the markedly elevated levels of beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin in this patient did not have any apparent inhibitory effect on viral replication.