[Intensive chemotherapy for Burkitt lymphoma in HIV positive patients].

BACKGROUND: Burkitt lymphoma has a low incidence, is highly aggressive, may be endemic, sporadic or associated with immunodeficiency and it has a high frequency of extranodal involvement. Overall and relapse free survival in HIV patients is 72 and 71% respectively. However, the current protocol in Chile considers a positive HIV serology as an exclusion criterion for intensive chemotherapy.

AIM: To analyze the response to Burkitt lymphoma treatment among HIV positive patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: All HIV positive patients with a Burkitt lymphoma treated using PANDA protocol in a public hospital were analyzed.

RESULTS: Eight male patients aged between 25 and 43 years, 63% in stage IV, were analyzed. All patients received an intensified chemotherapy regime, three of them without Rituximab. Complete remission was achieved in 87%. One patient was refractory to treatment and one patient relapsed at 5 months and died. Overall and relapse free survival were 58 and 60% respectively. All patients had episodes of high risk febrile neutropenia, but it did not cause deaths.

CONCLUSIONS: In this group of HIV patients, intensive chemotherapy for Burkitt lymphoma had a high degree of effectiveness with a low relapse rate and high cure rate.