HIV-Associated Lymphomas: Progress and New Challenges

How can we establish animal models of HIV-associated lymphoma?

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is strongly associated with a heightened incidence of lymphomas. To mirror the natural course of human HIV infection, animal models have been developed. These models serve as valuable tools to investigate disease pathobiology, assess antiretroviral and immunomodulatory drugs, explore viral reservoirs, and develop eradication strategies. However, there are currently no validated in vivo models of HIV-associated lymphoma (HAL), hampering progress in this crucial domain, and scant attention has been given to developing animal models dedicated to studying HAL, despite their pivotal role in advancing knowledge. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the existing animal models of HAL, which may enhance our understanding of the underlying pathogenesis and approaches for malignancies linked to HIV infection.

Synthesis and antitumor activity of dolutegravir derivatives bearing 1,2,3-triazole moieties

Modification of marketed drugs is an important way to develop drugs because its safety and clinical applicability. Oxygen-nitrogen heterocycles are a class of important active substances discovered in the process of new drug development. Dolutegravir, an HIV drug with a nitrogen-oxygen heterocycle structure, has the potential ability to inhibit cell survival. In order to find and explore novel anti-tumor drugs, new dolutegravir derivatives bearing different 1,2,3-triazole moieties were prepared via click reactions. In vitro biological experiments performed in several lung cancer cell lines suggested that these novel compounds displayed potent anti-tumor ability. Especially, the compound 9e with a substituent of 2-methyl-3-nitrophenyl and the compound 9p with a substituent of 3-trifluoromethylphenyl were effective against PC-9 cell line with IC50 values of 3.83 and 3.17 µM, respectively. Moreover, compounds 9e and 9p were effective against H460 and A549 cells. Further studies suggested that compounds 9e and 9p could induce cancer cell apoptosis in PC-9 and H460, inhibit cancer cell proliferation, change the cell cycle, and increase the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which further induce tumor cell apoptosis. In addition, compounds 9e and 9p increased LC3 protein expression which was the key regulator in autophagy signaling pathway in PC-9 cells. Compound 9e also showed low toxicity against normal cells, and could be regarded as an interesting lead compound for further structure optimization.

Carcinogenic mechanisms of virus-associated lymphoma

The development of lymphoma is a complex multistep process that integrates numerous experimental findings and clinical data that have not yet yielded a definitive explanation. Studies of oncogenic viruses can help to deepen insight into the pathogenesis of lymphoma, and identifying associations between lymphoma and viruses that are established and unidentified should lead to cellular and pharmacologically targeted antiviral strategies for treating malignant lymphoma. This review focuses on the pathogenesis of lymphomas associated with hepatitis B and C, Epstein-Barr, and human immunodeficiency viruses as well as Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus to clarify the current status of basic information and recent advances in the development of virus-associated lymphomas.

The epidemiological patterns of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: global estimates of disease burden, risk factors, and temporal trends

Background

The incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has increased steadily over the past few decades. Elucidating its global burden will facilitate more effective disease management and improve patient outcomes. We explored the disease burden, risk factors, and trends in incidence and mortality in NHL globally.

Methods

The up-to-date data on age-standardized incidence and mortality rates of NHL were retrieved from the GLOBOCAN 2020, CI5 volumes I-XI, WHO mortality database, and Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019, focusing on geographic disparities worldwide. We reported incidence and mortality by sex and age, along with corresponding age-standardized rates (ASRs), the average annual percentage change (AAPC), and future burden estimates to 2040.

Results

In 2020, there were an estimated 545,000 new cases and 260,000 deaths of NHL globally. In addition, NHL resulted in 8,650,352 age-standardized DALYs in 2019 worldwide. The age-specific incidence rates varied drastically across world areas, at least 10-fold in both sexes, with the most pronounced increase trend found in Australia and New Zealand. By contrast, North African countries faced a more significant mortality burden (ASR, 3.7 per 100,000) than highly developed countries. In the past decades, the pace of increase in incidence and mortality accelerated, with the highest AAPC of 4.9 (95%CI: 3.6-6.2) and 6.8 (95%CI: 4.3-9.2) in the elderly population, respectively. Considering risk factors, obesity was positively correlated with age-standardized incidence rates (P< 0.001). And North America was the high-risk region for DALYs due to the high body mass index in 2019. Regarding demographic change, NHL incident cases are projected to rise to approximately 778,000 by 2040.

Conclusion

In this pooled analysis, we provided evidence for the growing incidence trends in NHL, particularly among women, older adults, obese populations, and HIV-infected people. And the marked increase in the older population is still a public health issue that requires more attention. Future efforts should be directed at cultivating health awareness and formulating effective and locally tailored cancer prevention strategies, especially in most developing countries.

Clinical value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the management of HIV-associated lymphoma

HIV is still a major public health problem. At present, HIV-associated lymphoma remains the leading cause of deaths among people living with HIV, which should be paid more attention to. ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxglucose (FDG) PET/CT has been recommended in the initial staging, restaging, response assessment and prognostic prediction of lymphomas in general population. HIV-associated lymphoma is, however, a different entity from lymphoma in HIV-negative with a poorer prognosis. The ability to accurately risk-stratify HIV-infected patients with lymphoma will help guide treatment strategy and improve the prognosis. In the review, the current clinical applications of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in HIV-associated lymphoma will be discussed, such as diagnosis, initial staging, response evaluation, prognostic prediction, PET-guided radiotherapy decision, and surveillance for recurrence. Moreover, future perspectives will also be presented.

HIV/AIDS Associated Lymphoma: Review

Lymphoma is one of the hematologic malignancies that occur at a higher rate in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals. It is one of the most frequent neoplastic causes of death in those individuals. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphomas are acquired immunodeficiency syndrome defining lymphoma and non-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome defining lymphoma, respectively. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is the most common type of lymphoma in human immunodeficiency virus-positive people. The lymphoma that develops in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is heterogeneous in terms of morphology, pathogenesis pathways, and cellular derivation. A narrative review was conducted on the basis of relevant literature on the current topic to summarize the current epidemiology, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of lymphoma in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. The finding showed that although the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has decreased after the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy, it has remained higher in human immunodeficiency virus-infected people than in the general population. On the other hand, the incidence of Hodgkin's lymphoma has increased after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Therefore, it is recommended that people living with human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome be screened for the development of lymphoma to increase their survival time and quality of life, and further research is required regarding the pathogenesis, treatment, and laboratory diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated lymphoma.