FAMILIAL BURKITTS-LYMPHOMA IN PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA

A study of Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) in Papua New Guinea for the years 1 958-87 revealed four instances of familiar BL. Incident cases occurred within 1 year of each other in the four families. Personal follow-up was possible for three of these families whose pedigrees showed that t wo or more siblings were affected. There was no significant variation of the incidence of BL by year of diagnosis or month of onset. There w as significant variation in annual average incidence of BL between the three provinces studied, with the highest incidence in the Nuku and L umi census districts (of the West Sepik Province). This is the first r eport of familial BL outside Africa.