No excess risk of follicular lymphoma in kidney transplant and HIV-related immune deficiency

Abstract

Subtype‐specific incidence patterns in populations at high risk of lymphoma offer insight into lymphomagenesis. The incidence profiles for the 2 most common non‐Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes were compared for 2 immunodeficient populations, adults receiving a kidney transplant 1982–2003 (n = 7,730) or diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection 1982–2004 (n = 17,175). National, population–based registries were linked and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were computed for each cohort and lymphoma subtype. Risk of diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma was significantly increased after transplantation (SIR 17.83, 95% CI: 13.61–22.95) and after HIV infection (SIR 58.81, 95% CI: 52.59–65.56). Rates of follicular lymphoma (FL) were neither significantly increased nor decreased in transplant recipients (SIR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.10–2.96) and in people with HIV (SIR 1.25, 95% CI: 0.41–2.91). The findings argue against an infectious or other immunodeficiency‐related etiology for FL and clearly differentiate it from diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma.