Abstract :
Objectives: Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) is a B-cell lymphoma characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. HL comprises 1% of all cancer cases and 14% of all lymphoma cases. Nodular lymphocyte predominant HL (NLPHL) is a subtype of HL characterized by a unique clinical and histological presentation. The clinical presentation and survival rate of these patients have not been described in Oman. We, therefore, aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and survival rate of patients with NLPHL.
Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that was conducted in a tertiary care centers in the Sultanate of Oman. All Omani patients with histopathological confirmed diagnosis of NLPHL from 1998 to 2016 were included in this study. The demographic, clinical, and survival rate were recorded and analyzed.
Results: Forty-six histologically confirmed cases of NLPHL were analyzed with a median follow-up of 72 months (range: 12–228 months). Median age at diagnosis was 26.5 years (range: 13?53) and 70% of the patients were male. B symptoms were present in 6% and stage I disease was the most common (39%) presenting stage. Patients were treated with radiotherapy (33%), chemotherapy (37%), combined modality (radiotherapy and chemotherapy) (28%), or careful watch-and-wait (2%). Relapses occurred in twelve (26%) patients after a median of 48 months (24–168 months). Two (4%) patients died during followup due to relapse of NLPHL.
Conclusion: This is the first study that demonstrates the demographic, clinical, and survival rate of NLPHL patients in Oman. Our study confirms the male predominance in NLPHL patients. The overall 10-year survival was 96%. The outcome was not significantly different with chemotherapy alone or radiotherapy or combined modality. This study showed higher relapse rate; therefore, further study is needed to validate this observation.
Keyword :
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, NLPHL, Survival, Outcome, Oman.