Frequency of hematologic malignancies in the population of Arica, Chile

Hematologic diseases are a heterogeneous group of malignancies that affect people worldwide such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myelomas. The aim of this study was to characterize the frequency of hematological diseases in the population of Arica, Chile (18°S, 70°W), between 2011 and 2014. A total of 108 cases of hematologic malignancies were registered at Dr. Juan Noé Crevani Regional Hospital in this period; 40 male and 52 female cases were included in this retrospective and descriptive analysis. The overall median age at diagnosis for hematological malignancies was 59 years (range, 17 to 96 years). The results indicated that the frequency of hematological diseases such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia was not associated with sex, ethnicity and type of disease. However, in 2012 there was an increased number of cases of Hodgkin lymphoma compared with any other year in the study, whereas the number of multiple myeloma cases decreased between 2011 and 2014. No significant differences were observed among different types of disease, nor among the types of leukemia. However, when intervals of age were considered, it was revealed that patients >75 years had the highest incidence of hematological malignancies, mainly multiple myeloma, compared with other age groups. However, young adults were more commonly diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma than other disease types. A non-significant difference was observed in leukemia between 2011 and 2014 when sex was taken into consideration, in which the incidence rate was higher in females compared with males. Hodgkin lymphoma was most commonly at stage II and non-Hodgkin lymphoma was most commonly at stage IV. No significant differences were observed between the nodal and extranodal type, mixed cellularity and nodular sclerosis or in the morphology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cell type. Overall, there was a decrease in the frequency of hematological malignancies between 2011 and 2014, but no significant differences were observed in males or females. This study provided for the first time the pattern and distribution of hematological diseases in Arica, Chile.