Clinical characteristics and treatment response of Hodgkin's lymphoma in Taiwan.
OBJECTIVE
Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is particularly rare in Asia, including Taiwan. The report concerning its clinical features and treatment outcomes in Asians is limited. An exploration of the characteristics of HL in this area is of importance for future studies.


METHODS
In this study, 133 patients with HL diagnosed between January 1985 and December 2004 at National Taiwan University Hospital were analyzed retrospectively.


RESULTS
The age distribution revealed a young-adult peak at the age around 20 years. The nodular sclerosis type (NS-HL) was the most common histopathologic subtype (45%), followed by mixed cellularity (29%), lymphocyte predominant (13%), and lymphocyte depleted subtype (2%). The incidence of NS-HL was, however, lower compared with that in the West (around 70%). The male to female ratio was approximately 1:2 in patients with NS-HL, in contrast to the male predominance in patients with other subtypes. Induction therapy led to complete remission (CR) in 87% of patients. At a median follow-up of 78 months, the 10-year overall survival (OS) was 79% in all HL patients and was 90% in those who achieved first CR. In multivariate analysis, the achievement of CR was the only independent factor associated with good OS.


CONCLUSIONS
The treatment response of HL in Taiwan is good and comparable to that in Western countries. The epidemiologic differences between Taiwan and the West mandate further studies.
Wu
Shang-Ju
SJ
Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chen
Chien-Yuan
CY
Su
Ih-Jen
IJ
Tang
Jih-Luh
JL
Chou
Wen-Chen
WC
Ko
Bo-Sheng
BS
Huang
Sheng-Yi
SY
Yao
Ming
M
Tsay
Woei
W
Chen
Yao-Chang
YC
Wang
Chiu-Hwa
CH
Tien
Hwei-Fang
HF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome