Hodgkin Lymphoma Clinical Resource Area

Hodgkin Lymphoma (formerly Hodgkin's Disease) is a cancer that starts in lymphatic tissue. Lymphatic tissue can be found in lymph nodes and organs that are part of the body's immune and blood-forming system such as the spleen, bone marrow, and the thymus. Because lymphatic tissue is found in many parts of the body, Hodgkin Lymphoma can start almost anywhere, but most often begins in lymph nodes in the upper part of the body.

There are two kinds of lymphomas: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The cancerous cell specific to HL is the Reed-Sternberg cell. The cause of HL is not known and is most commonly found in two age groups-early adulthood (15-35 years) and late adulthood (50-70 years).

An estimated 8,190 cases of Hodgkin Lymphoma will be diagnosed in 2007 with approximately 1,070 deaths. Approximately 85% of all newly diagnosed patients with adult Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) can be cured with combination chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. National mortality has fallen more rapidly for adult HL than for any other malignancy.

Signs and symptoms of HL include painless swelling of lymph nodes in the neck, axilla, or groin, persistent fatigue, recurrent high fever, night sweats, pruritus, and weight loss. Prognosis is dependent factors: absence of systemic symptoms (“B” symptoms), the stage of disease, presence of large masses, and the quality/suitability of the treatment administered. Other important factors are age, sex, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), extent of abdominal involvement, hematocrit, and absolute number of nodal sites of involvement.