Long-term survival of a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

When patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are found to have Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), it is generally advanced, with involvement of extranodal sites including bone marrow, spleen, and liver, and prognosis tends to be unfavorable. We present the case of a 38-year-old white man who had HIV and HL diagnosed in 1990. Despite presenting with stage IV HL, having recurrence of HL after initially attaining remission, and being hospitalized on several occasions for opportunistic infections, he ultimately achieved complete remission of HL and is alive 9 years after initial diagnosis. This case illustrates that although unusual, prolonged survival of an HIV-infected patient with HL associated with poor prognostic features is possible.