Incidence and time trends in Hodgkin's Disease: From parts of the United Kingdom (1984-1993)

Over 3,000 cases of Hodgkin's Disease diagnosed between 1984-93 were used t o examine incidence and time trends. These data are part of the Leukaemia R esearch Fund's specialist Data Collection Study, which is the only large, p opulation-based data set of its type in Europe. The age specific incidence curves showed different patterns for nodular sclerosis contrasted with all other subtypes combined (non-nodular sclerosis). For nodular sclerosis, the re was a female excess for young adults, while for non-nodular sclerosis a gradual rise in incidence with age in both sexes was observed. Incidence va ried over time, showing a complex pattern with a decreasing trend in males in all Rye-subtypes and no significant change among females diagnosed with nodular sclerosis. These complex patterns of change are different from thos e seen in other countries. It is concluded that the results provide clear e vidence of the heterogeneity of Hodgkin's disease between the sexes and bet ween subtypes, which should be taken into account in future studies.