HIV-associated multicentric Castleman’s disease after initiation of antiretroviral therapy: experience of a European centre

Excerpt

Multicentric Castleman’s disease (MCD) is a non-AIDS-defining lymphoproliferative disorder diagnosed with increased frequency in people infected with HIV [1‐3]. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated no correlation with CD4 cell count or the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) [1, 2]. However, as early 1999, Zietz and colleagues reported a clustering of MCD cases in HIV-infected patients on highly active ART [4]. In our study, we analysed the temporal relationship between the initiation of ART and the occurrence of HIV-associated MCD (HIV-MCD) in 21 consecutive patients with HIV-MCD in a European HIV referral centre. We defined ART-associated HIV-MCD (in analogy with ART-associated cryptococcosis) as a disease that occurs within 12 months of ART initiation, reintroduction or regimen switching after previous failure [5]. …