EVIDENCE FOR A SEASONAL-VARIATION IN THE PRESENTATION OF HODGKINS-DISEASE

An analysis by month of diagnosis was made of 1359 cases of Hodgkins d isease (HD) on the Scotland and Newcastle Lymphoma Group (SNLG) regist ry 1979-1992 to look for evidence of seasonality. A March peak was evi dent when all cases were analysed (p < 0.01). The histological subtype s nodular sclerosing (NS) and mixed cellularity (MC) showed a similar pattern (p < 0.05) while lymphocyte depleted (LD) and lymphocyte predo minant (LP) had no demonstrable seasonal variation. In a breakdown by age and sex there was evidence of seasonality in both sexes but only u nder the age of 40. This provides further evidence for the heterogenei ty of HD and supports the hypothesis that different factors are involv ed in the aetiology of this condition in younger compared to older pat ients.