Lymphoma at King Hussein Medical Center: a histopathologic review

ABSTRACT

To determine the spectrum of various types of malignant lymphoma in children and adults at King Hussein Medical Center according to the World Health Organization classification 2001. A retrospective review of the histopathological subtypes of all primary lymphoma cases was conducted at Princess Iman Research and Laboratory Sciences Center at King Hussein Medical Center during the period between January 2004 and December 2008. A total of 485 patients were studied regarding age, gender, and Lymphoma type using the World Health Organization classification of lymphoid neoplasms. Descriptive analysis using frequencies was used to describe the study variables. Two hundred seventy-four [56.5%] cases were males and 211 [43.5%] were females. Their ages ranged between two and ninety years. A total of 61 [12.6%] patients were children and 424 [87.4%] patients were > 14 years old. Of 485 patients included in the study, 342 patients [70.5%] had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 143[29.5%] had Hodgkin's lymphoma. Two hundred twenty nine [47.2%] of affected patients aged 50 years and above, non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma accounted for 206 patients [90%] of them. Of all pediatric lymphoma cases, Hodgkin's lymphoma accounted for 41% [25 cases] and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma 59% [36 cases]. Burkitt's lymphoma was the predominant lymphoma in children. In the adult NHL group, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was the most common followed by follicular lymphoma. In the HL group, the nodular sclerosis variant was the most frequent [63.6%, 91 patient] followed by the mixed cellularity type [20.3%, 29 patient]. Distribution and patterns of lymphoma differs between children and adults. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most commonly encountered lymphoma in adults. Burkitt's lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma are the predominant childhood lymphomas.