Spectrum of malignancies in human immunodeficiency virus - positive patients at a Tertiary Care Centre in South India

India has a very large number of patients living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Opportunistic infections in these patients are commonly encountered. However, malignancies in such patients also do occur. The aim was to study the spectrum of malignancies in HIV-positive patients at a tertiary health care center. Retrospective study. The cases were retrieved from pathology record files at our Institute from January 2003 to December 2008. The follow-up was obtained from Medical oncology records. The morphology of each case was reviewed along with immunohistochemistry wherever done. There were 61 such cases (51 males, 10 females). The age range was 7-78 years with a median of 35 years. The clinical presentation varied according to the malignancy. The largest group was non-Hodgkin lymphoma (18 nodal, 23 extra-nodal). The others included carcinoma breast (4), chronic myeloid leukemia (3), Burkitt Leukemia (2), squamous cell carcinoma anal region (2), multiple myeloma (2) and one each of miscellaneous malignancies (7). Malignancies in HIV positive individual occurred in younger individuals. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas, especially extra-nodal lymphomas, were the most common malignancy. There were no cases of proven Kaposi's sarcoma or invasive cervical carcinomas. There were two cases of multiple myeloma which are infrequently reported.