The distribution of non-Burkitt, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in Uganda in relation to malarial endemicity

Biopsies of malignant lymphomas collected from all districts of Uganda, filed in the Kampala Cancer Registry for the 8-year period 1966-1973, were reviewed. This review confirmed a relatively low frequency of follicle-centre-cell lymphomas with a follicular growth pattern and the geographical co-distribution between malaria and Burkitt's lymphoma (BL). It also showed a similar, though less marked, association between non-Burkitt, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NBNHL) and malarial endemicity, and a correlation in the regional incidence between BL and NBNHL. In both comparisons, these associations were strong for high-grade lymphomas and weak for low-grade neoplasms. BL and other NHL may therefore share, to a varying degree, some common pathogenesis. The excess in frequency of NBNHL of high-grade malignancy in malarial endemic areas appears to be in contrast to Western countries where most non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are of low-grade malignancy.