Hodgkin's lymphoma of the childhood: Experience of single hemato-oncology center

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is a malignant lymphoma that accounts for approximately 7% of childhood cancers. The incidence of HL in childhood varies by age; it is the most common childhood cancer in the age group of 15–19 years. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to determine the clinical presentation and outcome of HL among children under 15 years of age. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study carried out at the hemato-oncology department of child's central teaching hospital included 46 HL patients under 15 years of age who were diagnosed over 6 years from January 2010 to December 2015. Demographic characteristics, histopathological and clinical features, treatment modalities, response to treatment, and outcome were obtained from the records files of the patients. RESULTS: Among a total of 46 children with HL, there were 33 (71.7%) males and 13 (28.3%) females; the male-to-female ratio was 2.1:1; the mean age of this study was 8.3 years. Lymphadenopathy was the most common sign, with cervical lymph node being the most common primary site of involvement. 47.8% of the atients present with Stage II, and the mixed cellularity histopathological subtypes were the common recognized subtype. Event-free survival (EFS) is 78.3%, and overall survival (OS) was 95.5%. CONCLUSION: Two-year OS (95.5%) and EFS (78.3%) of the HL patients were accepted as compared to other studies.

Keywords

• chemotherapy
• childhood
• hodgkin's lymphoma
• outcome