Advanced stage is the most important prognostic factor for survival in patients with systemic acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with CHOP and highly active antiretroviral therapy

in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the prognosis for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related lymphomas (ARL) seems to be similar to that for aggressive B-cell lymphomas in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative patients. This improvement in prognosis might lead to a modification of the classic prognostic factors for ARL. We evaluated the prognostic factors for response and survival in a series of HIV-infected patients with systemic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in the HAART era. Forty patients with systemic NHL treated with a CHOP-based chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) and HAART were studied. The main clinicopathologic and laboratory parameters were recorded in each case. Patients were scheduled to receive cycles of CHOP therapy, and all received granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. In addition, 9 patients received rituximab (375 mg/m(2)). The complete remission (CR) rate was 62.5% (n = 25). No prognostic factors influencing CR attainment were found. The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) probability (95 % confidence interval [CI]) was 73% (54%-92%)The median overall survival (OS) time was 69.17 months, and the 5-year OS rate (95% CI) was 51% (35%-67%). A disease stage of III to IV was the only parameter with prognostic influence on DFS. The factors influencing OS were an International Prognostic Index > 2, an Eastern Cooperative Ecology Group (ECOG) score > 2, and a disease stage of III to IV Patients with an advanced stage had a lower OS probability in a multivariate analysis (odds ratio, 4.24; 95% CI, 1.24-14.57). Advanced stage was the main prognostic factor predicting survival in ARL treated with CHOP and HAART.