A REPORT OF TWO CASES WITH HUMAN T-CELL LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TYPE-1 ASSOCIATED WITH ADULT T-CELL LEUKEMIA/LYMPHOMA (ATLL) IN WEST AZERBAIJAN (CASE REPORT)

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a lymph proliferative neoplasm caused by human T-lymph tropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), which is also the etiologic agent�of HTLV-1-associated with myelopathy or tropical spastic para paresis.�HTLV-1 is distributed worldwide, but is endemic only�in certain parts of the world such as southwestern Japan, the�Caribbean, Africa, parts of South America and Khorasan, the northeastern�province of Iran. We describe two patients, one male and one female, respectively 45 and 53 years old and born in Urmia with clinical, laboratory, and morphologic finding characteristics of ATLL, and anti-HTLV-1 positive serums. Both diagnosed and treated as ATLL by chemotherapy and expired 9 months after the diagnosis. Our findings confirm the presence of HTLV-1 in West Azerbaijan . With respect to that, there is no defined treatment for HTLV-1 infection and its complications, so studies to determine the prevalence rates may be necessary in establishing prophylactic�measures to reduce the rates of viral transmission.