Epidemiological surveillance of pediatric Hodgkin's disease in southern Iran

To study the epidemiological pattern of Hodgkin's disease (HD) in children of Southern Iran, a total of 120 cases of biopsy-proven Hodgkin's disease, less than 18 years old, submitted for histological diagnosis during 1987-1997 were classified, using the Rye's Classification.

Data on age, sex, number in households, socio-economic status, clinical presentation, signs and symptoms, para-clinical data at the time of diagnosis, treatment plan, recurrence and the presence of metastases were derived from the patients' history, and analyzed.

The largest subgroups were those of Mixed cellularity (66.7%), followed by Nodular sclerosis (23.3%), Lymphocytic predominance (8.3%) and Lymphocytic depletion (1.7%). The male-to-female ratio was 2.87. Patients with Nodular sclerosis were generally older than those in other groups. The mean age in all histopathological classes was higher in females.

The epidemiological pattern of the HD in southern Iran is similar to that of other developing countries and the northern part of Iran, in which mixed cellularity is the most common subtype. However, this pattern differs from the pattern seen in the United State and Europe, since Nodular sclerosis is the most common subtype in these regions.