title: Clinico-pathologic profile of Hodgkin's lymphoma in a rural medical college.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A prospective study was done at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH), Darjeeling, West Bengal, which caters predominantly to the rural and hilly population. All patients diagnosed as Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) were analyzed for clinical presentation, histological classified and staging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total of 48 cases reported for HL were studied (n=48). A lower median age of onset (28.1year) and higher male to female ratio (3.8:1) as compared to western countries were observed. We found neck swelling was the commonest presenting symptom (58.28%) and peripheral lymphadenopathy was the commonest sign (83.33%). "B symptoms" was noted in 79.17% cases. Cervical lymph nodes were commonly involved (79.17%), followed by inguinal (45.83%) and axillary (29.17%). Thoracic lymph nodes and abdominal lymph nodes were enlarged in 29.17% of the cases and 25% of the cases respectively. Eosinophilia was noted in 29.17% of cases. Marrow involvement by neoplastic process was observed in 8.33% of cases and reactive changes in the marrow were observed in 12.5% of cases. We found mixed cellularity subtypes was the commonest (45.83%) followed by nodular sclerosis subtypes (33.33%). At presentation 54.17% of cases were of advanced stage of disease (stage III and IV).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We noticed a distinct geographical pattern of HL in respect of age, sex, presentation, histological typing and staging of the disease, which is comparable to some other Indian studies but is noticeably different from patterns noted in Western countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Sushrutanagar, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Bidyut Krishna
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Goswami
authors.forename: Supriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: Sudipta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chakrabarti
authors.forename: Srikrishna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mondal
authors.forename: Amitabha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Asit R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Deb
keywords: Clinical presentation; Hodgkin lymphoma; Rural medical college; Stage; grade