Observations on burkitt's tumour in central and Northern Canada

The commonest childhood lymphoma in Central Canada is histologically, anatomically, and clinically identical to Burkitt's tumour. There is as yet no documented evidence that the incidence of this neoplasm is significantly higher in Africa than in Manitoba. This form of lymphosarcoma is not temperature and humidity dependent as was previously assumed, the most recent example being observed in an Eskimo child from the North West Territories. This neoplasm may masquerade as metastatic neuroblastoma, leukaemia, or even Ewing's tumour. The presence of large phagocytic histiocytes along with undifferentiated tumour cells in marrow aspirates during life may be of diagnostic assistance. This neoplasm, like other conventional forms of lymphosarcoma, can be multicentric in origin. While this neoplasm can infiltrate or even originate within bone marrow and be associated with circulating tumour cells, it should not be considered as a variant of leukaemia.