|
Age and Prevalence
|
Average age is 28 with two age peaks, the major one between 15 - 24 with a lesser peak after age 55. It is less common than NHL.
|
Average age is about 67. It is more common than HD.
|
|
Location
|
In both malignancies, the disease occurs most often in lymph nodes above the collarbone. However, in HD it is also more likely to appear in the chest cavity between the lungs (the mediastinum), particularly in younger patients.
Only about 15 - 20% of cases are found in areas below the diaphragm.
Disease occurs outside the nodes in about 4% of cases.
|
In both malignancies, the disease occurs most often in lymph nodes above the collarbone. In NHL, however, it is also more likely to appear in the nodes in the abdomen (called the mesenteric nodes).
The disease occurs in the chest cavity in less than 40% of patients. (An exception, lymphoblastic lymphoma, which is seen most often in young people, is likely to first appear in the chest.)
Disease occurs outside the nodes in about 23% of patients. Slow-growing lymphomas are common in the liver and bone marrow.
|
|
Progression
|
Less likely than NHL to be diagnosed in stage IV (10%). Hodgkin's disease usually progresses in an orderly way from one lymph node region to the next. This process may be slow, particularly in younger people, or very aggressive. The disease typically spreads downward from the initial site. If it spreads below the diaphragm, it usually reaches the spleen first; the disease then may spread to the liver and bone marrow. If the disease starts in the nodes in the middle of the chest, it may spread outward to the chest wall and areas around the heart and lungs.
|
More likely than HD to be diagnosed in stage IV (36%). The lymphomas are less predictable in their course than Hodgkin's disease and they are more apt to spread.
|
