Adult T-Cell Leukemia (ATL): Clinical, Pathological and Virological Findings in Two Cases with Unusual Features

Abstract

We describe two cases of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) in young adult males. One patient was born in the Seychelles Islands and came to live in Italy at 15 years of age; five years later, he started to experience several episodes of infestation by Strongyloides stercoralis, and opportunistic infections; at the age of 25, enlarged lymph nodes were first documented, and he died one month later, with a final diagnosis of ATL. The other patient was born in Rumania. At the age of 34 years, he presented with asthenia, liver and lymph node enlargement, lymphocytosis and cutaneous lesions, and a diagnosis of malignant lymphoma was made; despite chemotherapy, he died five months later. Serologic analyses demonstrated the presence of anti-HTLV-I antibodies in both patients, but not anti-HIV-1 antibodies. HTLV-1 nucleotide sequences were detected in the neoplastic cells of both patients.

Key Words:

• ATL
• HTLV-1
• immunodeficiency
• opportunistic infections