ABSTRACT
The consequence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a relentless destruction of the immune system culminating in the diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The era of AIDS was heralded in 1981 by the emergence of two previously uncommon diseases, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). In addition to AIDS-related KS, KS has also been reported in HIV-negative men who have sex with men, in whom it generally follows the indolent course found in classical KS. The clinical management of AIDS-associated KS is determined to a large extent by clinical staging. The prognosis for these patients appears to be significantly inferior to that for other AIDS-related lymphomas. Invasive cervical cancer was included as an AIDS-defining diagnosis in 1993, although at the time the incidence of cervical cancer was not increased significantly in HIV-seropositive women. Burkitt lymphoma is a highly curable malignancy in the general population using intensive chemotherapy regimens of short duration combined with central nervous system–penetrating therapy.
