Background As the incidence of opportunistic infections accounting for HIV-related deaths has declined significantly, malignancies now account for approximately a third of HIV related death with the majority of these being lymphoma related.

Aims To determine whether management of HIV positive patients within small centres is in line with current best practice guidelines.

Methods All HIV positive patients diagnosed with lymphoma or relapsing with lymphoma, from 2010 to 2015, in the BASHH Wessex region were eligible for inclusion. On review of previous studies and current BHIVA guidelines, a data collection tool was designed to accumulate relevant patient information to review care. Data collection was conducted at three centres across Wessex.

Results The total sample size of the study was 25 patients, all of which received the recommended diagnostic and staging procedures. Of the patients with documented staging, 73% were diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma and 50% had an International Prognostic Index score of 3 or more. The mean follow up time of each patient was 19 months (from 1 to 64 months). Within the follow up time, the overall survival rate was 72%. In those followed up for a minimum of 2 years, the progression free survival rate was 100%.

Conclusions Although the small sample size does not allow comparison with larger cohorts, current findings suggest that management of HIV positive lymphoma patients within these smaller centres is in line with best care guidelines. The formation of a national registry would allow for closer monitoring of this in the future.