A clinicopathologic study was conducted to assess the implication of
HTLV-I infection, Strongyloides stercoralis (Ss)
infection, and P53 overexpression in the development, response to treatment, and evolution of
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in Martinique, French West Indies. Two groups of patients, with 22 and 41 participants with B-cell and
T-cell lymphoma, respectively, were analyzed.
HTLV-I antibodies were detected in 24 (59%) patients with
T-cell lymphoma of whom 19 (46%) fulfilled diagnostic criteria of
adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (
ATLL). By comparison with other
T-cell lymphomas, patients with
ATLL were significantly younger (52 versus 63 years; p = .03), had a significantly higher incidence of
hypercalcemia (60% versus 0%; p = .0001), a trend for higher incidence of digestive tract localization (21% versus 4%; p = .1) and significantly shorter median survival (6 versus 17 months; p = .03). Similar results were observed when all 24 HTLV-I-infected patients with
T-cell lymphoma were compared with the 17 seronegative patients.
Strongyloidiasis was diagnosed in 11 of 34 patients tested for Ss
infection. All 4 Ss-infected (Ss-positive)
ATLL patients treated with
combination chemotherapy achieved complete remission (CR) versus only 2 of 7 Ss-negative
ATLL patients (p = .04). In addition, survival of Ss-positive patients with
ATLL was better than that of the uninfected patients: 27 versus 5 months, p = .04, respectively). P53 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on lymph node biopsies from 37 patients including 18
B-cell lymphomas, 14
ATLL, and 5 other
T-cell lymphomas. P53 overexpression (P53-positive) was observed in 6 samples that corresponded in all 6 patients with
ATLL. All P53-positive
ATLL patients had stage IV disease with elevated
lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. By comparison with other
ATLL patients studied for p53 expression, P53-positive
ATLL were characterized by a lower response rate to
combination chemotherapy (CR: 0 of 6 versus 4 of 6; p = .04) and a shorter survival (2 versus 9 months, p = .04). Our results suggest that
ATLL represents almost 50% of
T-cell lymphomas in Martinique; Ss
infection during
ATLL seems to be linked with a high response rate to
chemotherapy and prolonged survival; and P53 overexpression is observed in almost 50% of aggressive
ATLL from Martinique and, even in advanced clinical subtypes, is associated with resistance to
chemotherapy and short-term survival.