Year: 2000
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In order to assess the prevalence rate of HTLV-1-associated T-cell lymphomas and human retrovirus infection in general, approximately 21,000 individuals representing various patient populations, retroviral risk groups, and blood donors were examined for HTLV-I, HTLV-II, HIV-1, or HIV-2 infection using serologic and PCR assays. The prevalence rates among volunteer blood donors were 0.02% and 0% for HTLV and HIV, respectively. Significantly increased HTLV prevalence rates were observed among paid blood donors, African American health care clinic patients, Amerindians, recipients of HTLV-positive cellular blood products, intravenous drug users, sexual contacts and family members of HTLV-positive people, and patients with primary thrombocytosis and other-than-low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Among some of these groups there were significant differences in the prevalence of HTLV-I versus HTLV-II. The eight HTLV-positive NHL patients all had mature, high-grade, CD4+ T-cell lymphomas with clonally integrated HTLV-I, for a prevalence of 4% among other-than-low-grade NHL patients. Seven of the eight died from their disease within 2 years despite treatment. Interestingly, two groups at risk for HTLV infection, namely needle stick victims and recipients of HTLV-infected and/or pooled plasma products, showed no evidence for infection. Significantly increased HIV-1 prevalence was observed among paid blood donors, African Americans, homosexuals, female prostitutes, hemophiliacs, and other-than-low-grade NHL patients. Only one patient was infected with HIV-2. Of the nine HIV-positive, other-than-low-grade NHL patients, seven HIV-1 positives had B-cell lymphomas, one HIV-1 positive had an HTLV-I-positive CD4+ T-cell lymphoma, and one infected with HIV-2 had a CD4+ T-cell lymphoma that was HTLV negative. The data indicate that HTLV-I lymphoma, while uncommon, is not necessarily rare among other-than-low-grade NHL cases in the United States and, given its poor prognosis, should probably be studied separately in clinical trials.
Source: American Journal of Hematology
Authors: B.J. Poiesz, L.D. Papsidero, G. Ehrlich, M. Sherman, S. Dube, M. Poiesz, K. Dillon, F.W. Ruscetti, D. Slamon, C. Fang, A. Williams, D. Duggan, J. Glaser, A. Gottlieb, J. Goldberg, L. Ratner, P. Phillips, T. Han, A. Friedman-Kien, F. Siegal, K. Rai, A. Sawitsky, L.W.A. Sheremata, H. Dosik, C. Cunningham, R. Montagna
Institutions: State University of New York, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Buffalo History Museum, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, American Red Cross, Richmond University Medical Center, Washington University in St. Louis, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York University, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, University of Miami, Interfaith Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Immunology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1982834150