Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in northern Sweden. A retrospective analysis of morphologic diagnosis and stage in a material from the Swedish Cancer Registry.

ABSTRACT

Morphologic diagnosis and clinical stage were studied in a retrospective material of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas comprising 352 patients diagnosed 1978 until 1982 and reported to a regional cancer registry. Classification was made according to the original Kiel classification. Patients who could be classified as belonging to low- (46%) or high-grade (47%) malignancy groups (n = 337) were further studied. The median age was high, 65 years, which probably reflects the low degree of selection in a regional register material compared to most hospital register-based materials. The proportion of stage I cases was rather high, in low-grade lymphomas 24%, and in high-grade 39%, which can be attributed to incomplete staging procedures in old patients. The aim of the study was to illustrate the distribution according to morphologic subclasses and clinical features in a material with a low degree of patient selection.