Malignant lymphoma in Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Objective: To identify the pattern of malignant lymphoma in western Ethiopia and compare it with similar studies conducted in the region. Design: A retrospective study. Method: A search was made for all histopathologic diagnosis of malignant lymphoma from the files of the department for the years 1988-1999. The pathologic diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease was grouped according to Rye's classification and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma according to the working formulation for clinical usage classification. The results were tabulated and analysed. Setting: The department of pathology of Gondar College of Medical Sciences; the only unit which provides histopathologic services for the region, that includes Amhara and Tigrai region. Subjects: All lymphoma cases diagnosed at the department were included. Results: A total of 83 cases of lymphoma were diagnosed over a period of 11 years (1988-1999). Their age ranged from four years to 79 years. Twenty one (25.3%) had Hodgkin's diseases, 61 (73.5%) non Hodgkin's lymphomas and one (1.2%) unspecified lymphoma. The commonest type of Hodgkin's disease were lymphocyte predominant (38%) and mixed cellularity (33.3%). Nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease was diagnosed in only one case. The commonest type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was high-grade lymphoma (41.0%) followed by low grade lymphoma (32.8%). Burkitt's lymphoma was diagnosed in four cases. The frequency of Hodgkin's disease was high in the first and second decades while non-Hodgkin's lymphoma showed high frequency in the fifth decade. Conclusion: This study has shown many similarities in proportion of lymphomas and age and sex distribution of cases. The identified minor differences such as frequencies of histologic patterns of Hodgkin's disease and paucity of Burkitt's lymphoma deserve explanation and invites prospective studies.