Pediatric lymphomas in Brazil

OBJECTIVE: This study provides the clinical pathological characteristics of 1301 cases of pediatric/adolescent lymphomas in patients from different geographic regions of Brazil METHODS: A retrospective analyses of diagnosed pediatric lymphoma cases in a 10-year period was performed We believe that it represents the largest series of pediatric lymphomas presented from Brazil RESULTS: Non-Hodgkin lymphomas represented 68% of the cases, including those of precursor (36%) and mature (64%) cell origin Mature cell lymphomas comprised 81% of the B-cell phenotype and 19% of the T-cell phenotype Hodgkin lymphomas represented 32% of all cases, including 87% of the classical type and 13% of nodular lymphocyte predominant type The geographic distribution showed 384% of the cases in the Southeast region, 287% in the Northeast, 161% in the South, 88% in the North, and 8% in the Central-west region The distribution by age groups was 15-18 years old, 33%; 11-14 years old, 26%; 6-10 years old, 24%; and 6 years old or younger, 17% Among mature B-cell lymphomas, most of the cases were Burkitt lymphomas (65%), followed by diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (24%) In the mature T-cell group, anaplastic large cell lymphoma, ALK-positive was the most prevalent (57%), followed by peripheral T-cell lymphoma, then not otherwise specified (25%) In the group of classic Hodgkin lymphomas, the main histological subtype was nodular sclerosis (76%) Nodular lymphocyte predominance occurred more frequently than in other seriesCONCLUSION: Some of the results found in this study may reflect the heterogeneous socioeconomical status and environmental factors of the Brazilian population in different regions. © 2010 CLINICS