HIV-associated Burkitt lymphoma in the combination antiretroviral therapy era: Real-world outcomes and prognostication.

ABSTRACT

We performed a retrospective study to analyze the clinical characteristics and outcomes of human immunodeficiency virus-associated Burkitt's lymphoma in Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, southwest China, from March 2012 to February 2022. In the entire cohort, the median age was 36 years (range, 28-60 years), and more patients were male (82.4%). The median CD4+ T cell count was 214/µl (range, 54-601), of whom 47.1% had a CD4+ T cell count below 200/µl. Most patients had elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), elevated ß2-MG, extranodal involvement and advanced Ann Arbor stage at diagnosis. With a median follow-up of 11.5 months (range, 1.6-94.9 months), the overall 1-year progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) rates were 27.6% and 47.6%, respectively. The 1-year OS times in the LDH < 3 upper limit of normal and LDH ≥ 3 upper limit of normal groups were 62.5% and 31.3%, respectively (p = 0.008). The 1-year OS times in the received <4 cycles and ≥4 cycles groups were 0% and 77.8%, respectively (p < 0.001). These results demonstrated that LDH < 3 upper limit of normal and received ≥4 cycles of chemotherapy were significantly associated with improved outcomes. However, rituximab administration was not significantly associated with improved outcomes.