Epidemiology of lymphomas

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the fifth most common cancer in the US, with about 55,000 new cases estimated for the year 2000. According to the new Su rveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data from 1973 to 1997, th e age-adjusted incidence rates rose by about 80%, with an annual percentage increase of nearly 3%, which is faster than for the majority of cancers. T he increasing incidence of NHL is largely unexplained. AIDS-related NHL acc ounts for some but not all of the increase. The American Cancer Society pre dicts about 7,400 new cases of Hodgkin Disease (HD) in the year 2000 in the US. The incidence of HD is consistently lower than that of NHL, and has de creased about 16% since the 1970s. Only a small portion of the decrease in HD incidence can be explained by misdiagnosis of HD as NHL. Further researc h is needed on the cofactors that predispose AIDS cases to lymphoma, as wel l as other possible causes of NHL such as immunosuppression, genetics, viru ses, medical conditions, pesticides, solvents, hair dyes, and diet. Further evaluation of the role of viruses, occupational exposures, and genetics in the etiology of HD should prove valuable. Curr Opin Oncol 2000, 12:383-394 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.