Incidence and clinical manifestation of lymphoma in central Punjab

Delayed diagnosis in lymphoma deteriorates the health eminence resulting in pitiable prognosis and poor health management. the aim of the study is to estimate the burden and clinical presentation of lymphoma in pakistan. a total of 334 newly diagnosed cases of lymphoma were registered in the study. followed by histopathology,who classification and ann arbor staging was done to assign subtype and extent of disease. it was found that the incidence of non hodgkin's lymphoma (71%) was greater than hodgkin's disease (29%) and both present bimodal distribution in age. male patients dominate female patients in both cases (2.5:1). lymphadenopathy of cervical region is primary site in 44% of cases while 20% cases were extranodal. histopathology show 66% mixed cellularity variant in hodgkin's and 37% diffuse b cell pattern in non hodgkin's lymphoma. ann arbor staging reveals that 28% cases present with stage i and 38% show stage iv. to conclude,non hodgkin's lymphoma is 2 times more frequent than hodgkin's lymphoma with greater male contribution. due to complicated classification,delayed diagnosis resulted in late stage presentation. health awareness is needed both for physicians and general population. copyright 2012 zoological society of pakistan.