HTLV-I-associated adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma in two patients from Bucharest, Romania.

Two middle-aged patients with T cell lymphoma, both natives of Bucharest, Romania, tested positive for HTLV-I antibodies. Malignant cells had the typical phenotype and morphology of adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). Both cases presented with extranodal manifestation, hypercalcemia, early recurrence after initial responses to therapy, and subsequent resistance to conventional and intensified chemotherapy. Infection with HTLV-I was confirmed by PCR analyses of serial biopsies. Neither patient reported known risk factors for HTLV-I infection. This report points to the possibility that Romania may represent an endemic area for HTLV-I and should heighten the awareness towards HTLV-I infections in Romanian patients.