Overview

Definition

Hodgkin's disease is a cancer of the lymph nodes or other lymphatic tissue. It's classified as a type of lymphoma. The lymphomas are a group of cancers affecting lymphatic tissue, primarily composed of lymph nodes, the spleen and bone marrow. Lymph nodes are bean-sized organs all over the body where immune cells, called "lymphocytes," mature into cells primed to fight off infection.

The cancer cell of Hodgkin's disease is a larger than normal defective lymphocyte called a "Reed-Sternburg" cell (named after the doctors who discovered it). Characteristics of the Reed-Sternburg cell, as well as the concentration of normal-appearing lymphocytes, help to identify the types of Hodgkin's lymphomas:

• Nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Mixed cellularity Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Lymphocyte depletion Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Lymphocyte-rich classical Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma

In 2006 there will be about 7,800 new cases of Hodgkin's disease and 1,490 deaths. Hodgkin's disease is most common in two age groups: in young adults (ages 25 to 30) and in late adulthood (after age 55). However, about one out of 10 cases is diagnosed in a child 16 years old or younger.

Most cases of Hodgkin's disease begin in the lymph nodes of the chest, neck or axilla (underarm). Unlike the non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease behaves more predictably and is less likely to spread outside of the lymph nodes. These factors contribute to the good survival rate prognosis for Hodgkin's lymphoma, especially in stages I and II (90 percent to 95 percent). The 5-year survival rate prognosis for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas is 55 percent.

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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.