Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is an aggressive lymphoma commonly associated with HIV infection. However, PBL can also be seen in patients with other immunodeficiencies as well as in immunocompetent individuals. Because of its distinct clinical and pathological features, such as lack of expression of CD20, plasmablastic morphology, and clinical course characterized by early relapses and subsequent chemotherapy resistance, PBL can represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for pathologists and clinicians alike. Despite the recent advances in the therapy of HIV-associated and aggressive lymphomas, patients with PBL for the most part have poor outcomes. The objectives of this review are to summarize the current knowledge on the epidemiology, biology, clinical and pathological characteristics, differential diagnosis, therapy, prognostic factors, outcomes, and potential novel therapeutic approaches in patients with PBL and also to increase the awareness toward PBL in the medical community.

HIV infection has been recognized as a prothrombotic condition and this association has now been proven by a large number of studies with a reported VTE frequency among HIV-infected patients ranging from 0.19% to 7,63 %/year. HIV infection is associated with a two to tenfold increased risk of venous thrombosis in comparison with a general population of the same age. Some risk factors demonstrated a strongest association with VTE such as, low CD4+ cell count especially in the presence of clinical AIDS, protein S deficiency, and protein C deficiency. Whereas other risk factors are still controversial like protease inhibitor therapy, presence of active opportunistic infections and presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, including anticardiolipin antibodies and lupus anticoagulant. Physicians caring for HIV positive patients should be able to recognize and treat not only the well-known opportunistic infections and malignancies associated with this chronic disease, but also be alert to the less well-known complications such as thromboses. Pulmonary embolism should be included in the differential diagnosis when patients with HIV/AIDS have unexplained dyspnea or hypoxemia. In younger individuals with VTE, especially men, without other identifiable risk factors for VTE, HIV should be considered. Because interactions between warfarin and antiretrovirals is possible, health care providers should also be alert to the potential of dangerously high or low INRs when they are giving anticoagulants to patients with HIV infection who are undergoing antiretroviral therapy.

The British Journal of Haematology publishes original research papers in clinical, laboratory and experimental haematology. The Journal also features annotations, reviews, short reports, images in haematology and Letters to the Editor.

HIV-associated lymphoproliferative disorders represent a heterogeneous group of diseases, arising in the presence of HIV-associated immunodeficiency. The overall prevalence of HIV-associated lymphoma is significantly higher compared to that of the general population and it continues to be relevant even after the wide availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) (1). Moreover, they still represent one of the most frequent cause of death in HIV-infected patients. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), a ?-Herpesviruses, is involved in human lymphomagenesis, particularly in HIV immunocompromised patients. It has been largely implicated in the development of B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders as Burkitt lymphoma (BL), Hodgkin disease (HD), systemic non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NC). Virus-associated lymphomas are becoming of significant concern for the mortality of long-lived HIV immunocompromised patients, and therefore, research of advanced strategies for AIDS-related lymphomas is an important field in cancer chemotherapy. Detailed understanding of the EBV lifecycle and related cancers at the molecular level is required for novel strategies of molecular-targeted cancer chemotherapy The linkage of HIV-related lymphoma with EBV infection of the tumor clone has several pathogenetic, prognostic and possibly therapeutic implications which are reviewed herein