Hodgkin lymphoma: clinicopathologic features in Benin City, Nigeria and update on its biology and classification.

OBJECTIVE To review the age incidence, common pathohistologic subtypes, and anatomical nodal sites of lymph nodes involvement for histology. MATERIALS AND METHODS A 25 (May 1985-June 2010) years retrospective study of all patients who had lymph node biopsy. SETTING Department of Pathology and Haematology, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. RESULTS Of 821 lymph node biopsies encountered, 56 (6.8%) cases biopsied were for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). There was a bimodal peak incidence of age interval of 11-15 years and 21-25 years and the relationship between the age and sex distribution was statistically significant (P = 0.03). The overall median age was 23 years with a mean age of 25.6 ± 2.0 (SEM). Pathological re-appraisal of these 56 cases in the study indicates that mixed cellularity HL constituting 36 cases (64.3%) was the predominant subtype. This was followed by lymphocyte depleted HL with a total of 11 cases (19.6%). The major site of lymph node involvement where biopsy was taken for histological diagnosis was the cervical group of lymph nodes constituting 78.6%. Staging classification of the disease indicates low frequency of early stage disease (I-II) with 19 cases (33.9%) and high frequency of late stage (III-IV) with 37 cases (66.1%). CONCLUSION Patients are predominantly males, children and young adults presenting with cervical lymphadenopathy at late stage of the disease, and a dominance of mixed cellularity and lymphocyte depleted histological subtypes were observed.