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Non‐Hodgkin lymphoma in Southern Africa: review of 487 cases from The International Non‐Hodgkin Lymphoma Classification Project
Author(s) -
Perry Anamarija M.,
Perner Yvonne,
Diebold Jacques,
Nathwani Bharat N.,
MacLennan Kenneth A.,
MüllerHermelink Hans K.,
Bast Martin,
Boilesen Eugene,
Armitage James O.,
Weisenburger Dennis D.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/bjh.13885
Subject(s) - lymphoma , hodgkin lymphoma , epidemiology , medicine , follicular lymphoma , demography , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , oncology , immunology , sociology
Summary Comparative data on the distribution of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma ( NHL ) subtypes in Southern Africa ( SAF ) is scarce. In this study, five expert haematopathologists classified 487 consecutive cases of NHL from SAF using the World Health Organization classification, and compared the results to North America ( NA ) and Western Europe ( WEU ). Southern Africa had a significantly lower proportion of low‐grade ( LG ) B‐ NHL (34·3%) and a higher proportion of high‐grade ( HG ) B‐ NHL (51·5%) compared to WEU (54·5% and 36·4%) and NA (56·1% and 34·3%). High‐grade Burkitt‐like lymphoma was significantly more common in SAF (8·2%) than in WEU (2·4%) and NA (2·5%), most likely due to human immunodeficiency virus infection. When SAF patients were divided by race, whites had a significantly higher frequency of LG B‐ NHL (60·4%) and a lower frequency of HG B‐ NHL (32·7%) compared to blacks (22·5% and 62·6%), whereas the other races were intermediate. Whites and other races had a significantly higher frequency of follicular lymphoma and a lower frequency of Burkitt‐like lymphoma compared to blacks. The median ages of whites with LG B‐ NHL , HG B‐ NHL and T‐ NHL (64, 56 and 67 years) were significantly higher than those of blacks (55, 41 and 34 years). Epidemiological studies are needed to better understand these differences.