This is much lower than the national average of 13.9% and the reported rate of 29.8% in predominantly young women attending emergency units in the Eastern Cape Province where our unit is situated.33 Untreated HIV may be protective against the development of SLE, since CD4 T lymphocytes play an integral role in the pathophysiology of SLE development.34 This may explain the low prevalence of HIV in our LN cohort. Here, CD4 is linked to lobular neoplasia.