the case of a female patient with diagnosis of non hodgkin lymphoma of aggressive histology in 1990 was presented .according to the clinical findings and to the results of the complementary tests made, it was suspected the possibility of adult t-cell leukemia/lymphoma (atll) related to human t lymphotropic virus type i (htlv-1) infection, which was confirmed by the results of the virological studies. it was observed a torpid evolutive behavior and therapeutic response. the patient died during the first 4 months of the diagnosis, which corroborated what is published in medical literature on this topic.this is the first case diagnosed in cuba of an adult t-cell leukemia/lymphoma associated with htlv-1.
