Surgery for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract associated with human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus

Four patients, seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), had operation for non-Hodgkin's gastrointestinal lymphoma. These tumors have been linked to infection with HIV and may occur throughout the gastrintestinal tract. Two patients presented with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage requiring surgery, and were found to have solitary gastric lymphomas as a cause of bleeding. A third patient with an abdominal mass was found at operation to have lymphoma involving the right colon and terminal ileum. The fourth patient was explored for intestinal obstruction secondary to a small bowel lymphoma. The pathology on all four specimens revealed non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma. Operation is recommended to control complications of bleeding and obstruction. Three of the four patients remain alive after surgery up to one year; however, long term suvival may be related to the underlying stage of the HIV infection.