A five years (1973 - 1977) retrospective study and a two years experience in the treatment of adult (over 15 years) Hodgkins disease in Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Literature on Hodgkins disease is briefly reviewed under the following headings: (a)Aetiology (b) Clinical presentation and staging (c)Histipathological diagnosis and classification (d)Treatment (e)Relapse survival and cure (f)Immunology. Records of 49 adult (>15 years) patients diagnosed and treated in Kenyatta national hospital between January 1973 and December 1977 were analyzed. The mean age was 31 years and the male-female ratio was 3:1. All the patients had lymphadenopathy as a main presenting feature, and 94.5% complained of fever at the time of presentation. The mean duration of illness before presentation was 11 months. 70% of the patients were clinically in stage III and IV at the time of presentation. Histological classification showed a predominance of the more malignant mixed cellulantly (37%) and lymphocyte (23%). Multiple drug chemotherapy achieved a complete remission rate of 76% while the complete remission rate in the group treated with radiotherapy was 71%. Side effects in both groups were minimal.