Background: We investigated the prevalence of HIV and human papilloma virus (HPV) infection in men with penile carcinoma. Method: This retrospective study investigated all men with penile carcinoma at the Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa (January 2000-December 2008). Patients' age, HIV status, histological type of carcinoma and evidence of HPV infection were recorded. Statistical analyses included Student's t-test and Fisher's exact test where appropriate (2-tailed p-value < 0.05 indicated statistical significant). Results: Among 65 patients (mean age 50.9 years, range 37-69), the most common histological type was squamous cell carcinoma (80.0%). HIV status was known for 48 patients; 27 (56.2%) were HIV-positive. The mean age at presentation was 43.7 years (range 26-69) years in the HIV-positive and 57.2 years (range 26-89) years in the HIV-negative group. Approximately 55% of HIV-positive and 24% of HIV-negative patients showed histological evidence of HPV infection (p = 0.04). No significant difference was found with regard to histological type of carcinoma. Conclusion: Patients with penile carcinoma had a high prevalence of HIV infection. The HIV-positive group were significantly younger at presentation, with a higher prevalence of HPV infection, suggesting that HIV may contribute to HPV-associated penile cancer at a younger age.

Beukes C A & Thiart J 
(2012) Histopathology 61, 942–944 The incidence of human herpes virus‐8 expression in lymph node biopsies from human immunodeficiency virus‐positive patients Aims:  Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐related lymphadenopathy is characterized by a wide spectrum of histological changes. Three patterns have been described which correspond to clinical stages of HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Castleman disease is a heterogeneous group of disorders. A recently described variant, multicentric Castleman disease (MCD), of which some cases are associated with human herpes virus‐8 (HHV‐8), has been reported in both HIV‐seropositive and ‐negative patients. Considerable morphological overlap occurs between one of the patterns of HIV lymphadenopathy and this variant. Methods and results:  This retrospective histopathological study on 95 cases of HIV‐reactive lymphadenopathy assessed the incidence of the different patterns and HHV‐8 on immunohistochemistry (IHC). Of the 95 cases, 78 (82.1%) were HHV‐8‐negative, of which 46 (59.0%) were classified as pattern A, 20 (25.6%) as pattern B and 12 (15.4%) as pattern C. Nine (31.0%) of 29 cases with pattern B and 8 (40.0%) of 20 cases with pattern C were HHV‐8 positive. In total 15 cases of MCD were diagnosed in this series. Conclusion:  This study draws attention to the overlap between HIV lymphadenopathy and MCD. We recommend that cases of HHV‐8‐associated MCD should be investigated for HIV infection.

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