Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's 'lymphoma of the head and neck

Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis: Lymphomas are a frequent cause of malignant lymphadenopathy in the head and neck. This study was performed to evaluate the head and neck manifestations of lymphomas and to emphasize the different presentations of Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Study Design: Retrospective review. Methods: A retrospective review was made of all cases of lymphomas involving the head and neck at Marshfield Clinic (Marshfield, WI) between 1988 and 1996. Specifically, the Clinical presentations, staging, and prognosis for HD and NHL with head and neck involvement were sought. Results: Three hundred eleven patients were included in the study, 76 with HD and 235 with NHL. The median age at diagnosis for patients with HD was 27.7 years, and for patients with NHL, 67.2 years. This difference was highly significant (P