Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 29, 2025 18 hours, 37 minutes ago
Medical News: A Rare but Dangerous Overlap
Doctors from the Medical University of Warsaw have highlighted one of the toughest medical challenges today—treating patients who suffer from both HIV-related lymphoma and COVID-19 at the same time. Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system, and when combined with HIV, treatment becomes extremely complex. Adding COVID-19 into the picture creates even more dangerous complications. According to this
Medical News report, very few cases of this overlap have been documented globally, but the ones reported show how high the risks can be.
HIV Lymphoma Patients Face Severe Risks with COVID-19
Case of Prolonged COVID-19 Infection
The study describes the case of a 49-year-old Korean man living in Poland who was diagnosed with AIDS-related diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), also linked to Epstein–Barr virus. After beginning chemotherapy, he tested positive for COVID-19. Although he was initially without symptoms, the infection lingered for more than 113 days, with repeated tests showing strong positivity. Despite treatment with molnupiravir, the infection did not clear. During this prolonged illness, he also developed multiple other infections, including cytomegalovirus, fungal pneumonia, and severe bacterial sepsis. Because of these complications, doctors could not administer full-strength chemotherapy, which allowed the lymphoma to progress. Ultimately, he passed away.
Why These Patients Are So Vulnerable
People with HIV already have weakened immune systems, and when lymphoma develops, the body’s defenses are pushed to the limit. COVID-19 adds yet another blow, often leading to higher viral loads and longer infections compared to the general population. In this case, the man had extremely low CD4 cell counts, a marker of immune strength. This left him unable to fight the virus effectively, leading to persistent COVID-19 that disrupted cancer treatment. His case shows how HIV-related lymphoma patients with COVID-19 are at risk of rapidly worsening outcomes.
Review of Other Cases Worldwide
So far, only a handful of patients worldwide have been reported with the combination of HIV, lymphoma, and COVID-19. Most of them experienced mild COVID-19 and were able to continue treatment for their cancer. A few had severe illness, but none had such an unusually long infection as the case described by the Warsaw researchers. Their patient was different because of his newly diagnosed and advanced HIV infection, which left him with almost no immune defense. This combination of aggressive lymphoma, uncontrolled HIV, and persistent COVID-19 created an impossible situation for doctors to manage.
The Urgent Need for New Guidelines
Current medical guidelines for cancer patients with COVID-19 recommend delaying chemotherapy until the infection has cleared. But for patients with aggressive cancers like DLBCL, delaying treatment can quickly become fatal. The doctors stressed that there are no clear recommendations for those who also have HIV. They say there is an
urgent need to develop specific guidelines for this vulnerable group of patients so that doctors can balance the risks of infection with the need to treat life-threatening cancers.
Final Thoughts
This study reveals how prolonged COVID-19 infection can stop doctors from giving the right treatment for HIV-related lymphoma, leading to tragic outcomes. While many patients with HIV and lymphoma who catch COVID-19 may recover, those with severe immune suppression face far greater risks. The patient’s case shows the urgent need for new medical strategies and research to protect this fragile group of people. Without better guidance and treatments, similar tragedies may continue to occur.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Pharmaceuticals.
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/10/1461
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