Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. matthew.cheung@utoronto.ca
The optimal management of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related lymphoma (ARL) in the era of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is unclear. We administered a survey to determine physician preferences and perceptions in the management of ARL and to assess the variability in treatment in Canada. Of 196 lymphoma-treating physicians, 117 (63%) responded. The majority of respondents (98%) had a positive attitude towards the treatment of ARL. Most physicians (66%) recommended the concomitant use of cART in the care of their patients with ARL, and a majority (86%) recommended CHOP-like regimens (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) to form the backbone of chemotherapy. The addition of rituximab was preferred by 43% of physicians, while 39% and 18% would either not use rituximab or were unsure of the agent's role, respectively. In logistic regression analysis, use of rituximab was predicted only by location of practice (province); physicians from the province of British Colombia were much more likely to administer rituximab than practitioners from Ontario (odds ratio 41.8; 95% confidence interval 7.44-235.1, p