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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Flow-sorting and Exome Sequencing of the Reed-Sternberg Cells of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
Published on: June 10, 2017
[Hodgkin's disease in the very young child. Apropos of 11 cases]
M Harif1, A Trachli, A Quessar
1Service d'hématologie et oncologie pédiatriques, centre hospitalier lbn Rochd, Casablanca, Maroc.
Insights
Pediatric Hodgkin's disease (HD) is rare in young children, often seen in developing nations. Chemotherapy alone shows high efficacy in treating this young patient group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Hematology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Hodgkin's disease (HD) is infrequently diagnosed in children under 4 years old.
- This rare pediatric cancer appears more prevalent in developing countries.
Observation:
- This study analyzed 11 cases of HD in patients aged 15 years or younger between 1980 and 1991.
- The youngest patient was 29 months old, with a median age of 2 years and 11 months.
- Histological subtypes included mixed cellularity (6 cases), lymphocytic predominance (2 cases), and nodular sclerosis (2 cases).
- Four patients presented with B symptoms, and disease stages ranged from II to IV.
Findings:
- All 11 patients received chemotherapy (MOPP/ABVD); one also had radiation therapy.
- Of 10 evaluable patients, 7 achieved complete remission.
- No relapses or treatment-related deaths were reported during 2-8 years of follow-up.
Implications:
- Very young children represent a significant subset of pediatric Hodgkin's disease cases.
- Chemotherapy alone appears highly effective for treating HD in this pediatric age group.
- Further research into the specific epidemiology and treatment protocols for young children with HD is warranted.
Abstract:
Hodgkin's disease (HD) in children of 4 years of age or younger is seldom reported. It seems more frequent in developing countries. We report on 11 cases out of 115 cases of HD in patients of 15 years of age or younger observed between 1980 and 1991. The youngest patient was 29 months old and the median age was 2 years 11/12. The male/female ratio was 2.6. Mixed cellularity was found in six cases, lymphocytic predominance in two cases and nodular sclerosis in two cases. B symptoms were observed in four cases. Four patients had stage II, three stage III and four stage IV disease. Chemotherapy consisted of MOPP/ABVD in all cases. One patient received mantle field radiation therapy. Of ten evaluable patients, seven achieved complete remission, three patients were lost to follow-up in partial remission before achieving the treatment program. There were no relapses so far and no death attributable to toxicity. The follow-up ranges from 2 to 8 years. These data indicate the high frequency of HD in very young patients and suggest that chemotherapy alone is very efficient in this subset of patients.
