Increasing incidence and prevalence of Hodgkin's lymphoma in Finland: a population-based registry study

Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is a lymphoid malignancy with an emphasized incidence in developed countries. This study aimed to assess the changes in the epidemiology of HL in Finland at the population level by utilizing data from six nationwide healthcare registries. A total of 2912 patients with HL, diagnosed and treated between 2000 and 2019 were matched by controls and divided into younger (<50 years) and older cohorts (≥50 years) for analysis. A slightly increasing trend in incidence per age group was observed. For the younger patients, the mean annual incidence was 3.19 for males and 2.89 for females. For the older patients, it was 3.07 and 1.59, respectively. Finland has higher incidence rates than other Scandinavian countries possibly due to unique human leucocyte antigen allele distribution. There was a notable increase in prevalence. For females, this was particularly emphasized between the ages of 30-50 years, while among males, it was more evenly distributed across all ages. As a result of improved disease management, the proportion of HL survivors is increasing.