Clinical course of retrovirus-associated adult T-cell lymphoma in the United States

Abstract

We studied the clinical features of 11 patients with adult T-cell lymphoma associated with the human T-cell lymphoma virus. The patients were predominantly young, black, and born in the southeastern United States. They had an aggressive course, with the rapid onset of disseminated skin lesions or symptoms related to hypercalcemia and other metabolic disturbances, or both. Common findings included rapid enlargement of peripheral, hilar, and retroperitoneal lymph nodes, with sparing of the mediastinum; invasion of the central nervous system, lungs, or gastrointestinal tract; and opportunistic infections. A paraneoplastic syndrome characterized by increased bone turnover, abnormal bone scintigraphy, and hypercalcemia was present in all patients. Intensive combination chemotherapy produced prompt complete clinical remissions, which were generally of short duration. Similar features have been described in patients in Japan and the West Indies who had adult T-cell lymphoma, which is also associated with the human T-cell lymphoma virus. This syndrome should be suspected in patients presenting with the acute onset of widespread T-cell lymphoma in association with metabolic bone disease and hypercalcemia. The presence of the syndrome can be confirmed by appropriate serologic and virologic studies.