Peripheral lymphocyte count in untreated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients and their lymphographic findings

The relation between grades of foaminess in lumbar, iliac and inguinal nodes on bipedal lymphograms, and peripheral lymphocyte counts was assessed in patients with untreated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The lymphocyte counts were widely distributed in and around the normal range in patients with normal lymphographic findings, but in patients with increased grades of foaminess they were depressed to a marked degree. The decrease in peripheral lymphocyte counts in patients revealing no pathological grades of foaminess may be caused by the occult abdominal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or may suggest the impending extension of the disease in these nodal chains.