Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is rife in sub-Saharan Africa and in southern Africa in particular. Despite the increasing availability of antiretroviral therapy in this region, HIV-associated neoplasms remain common and frequently involve the gastrointestinal tract, which may also demonstrate other noninfectious, HIV-related pathology.
To review the histopathologic findings and distinguishing features of neoplastic and noninfectious, HIV-associated gastrointestinal disorders in southern Africa and relate those findings to the documented international literature.
The available literature on this topic was reviewed and supplemented with personal experience in a private histopathology practice in South Africa.
In southern Africa, a diverse range of HIV-related neoplasms and noninfectious gastrointestinal disorders is seen, but published data for the region are scarce. The gastrointestinal disorders include drug-associated pathology, gastrointestinal manifestations of the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, idiopathic chronic esophageal ulceration, and the controversial entity of HIV enteropathy.