Hodgkin's disease after treatment for Burkitt's lymphoma: case report

Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are interrelated disorders which have been reported to occur either simultaneously or sequentially in the same patient. We report here the development of nodular sclerosing type Hodgkin's disease in a patient two decades after successful treatment for Burkitt's lymphoma with cyclophosphomide and abdominal resection (AR). While the onset of symptoms after treatment for Burkitt's lymphoma was seven years definitive diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease was only made 22 years after the initial diagnosis of Burkitt's lymphoma. The recurrent and solitary nature ofthe lymphadenopathy and the fact that it was initially reported as reactive hyperplasia is typical of nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's disease. We believe that there was a transitory period of the malignancy as nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's disease.