Peripheral T-cell lymphoma with Toutonlike tumor giant cells associated with HIV infection: report of two cases.

T-cell lymphoma in patients infected with HIV is much less common than B-cell lymphoma. We describe two cases of HIV-associated extranodal lymphoma that showed Toutonlike tumor giant cells and mononuclear large lymphoma cells. Both cell types expressed T-cell-associated antigens, including CD3, CD5, CD43, and CD45RO, and were CD4- and CD30-positive and negative for all B-lineage-associated antigens. Both cases showed T-cell receptor gamma chain gene rearrangements using the polymerase chain reaction and were negative for the Epstein-Barr virus by in situ hybridization. Despite the expression of CD30 by the multinucleated cells, both cases were negative for ALK1 by immunohistochemistry and failed to show evidence of the nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion product characteristic of t(2;5) using the reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Although rare, CD4-positive, T-cell lymphoma with Toutonlike giant cells may be a distinct type of HIV-associated malignant lymphoma.