Abstract

ABSTRACTBackground and Objectives Earlier studies have addressed the pathological classification ofmalignant lymphomas in Duhok, while no studies have addressed the clinical aspects andoutcome of treatment.Aim to identify clinical features, diagnostic procedures, standard treatment and outcome ofmalignant lymphomas in DuhokMaterial and Methods This is a case series study of 108 initially untreated patients withmalignant lymphoma who were followed during the period 2007 to 2013.Results The 108 enrolled patients included 61 patients with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma(NHL) and 47 with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (HL).The median age of patients with NHL was52 (48.4±22.5) years while that of patients with HL was 29 (34.4±16.4) years. The principalclinical presentation was cervical lymphadenopathy; 38% in NHL and 70% in HL. Bsymptomswere present in 20% of NHL patients and 32% of HL patients. The staging ofpatients with NHL showed that they were mostly in stages III and IV, while patients with HLwere mostly in stage II. Bone marrow involvement was found in 35% of patients with NHLand in 3% of patients with HL. The standard treatment for NHL was protocol R-CHOP, givenevery 21 days; each patient received an average of 8 cycles. For HL, the standard treatmentwas the ABVD protocol given in an average of 6 cycles. Of all the patients with NHL, eighthad relapse and were put on second line therapy (ICE protocol) while four died frominfections. Of the patients with HL, two had relapsed and one died from infection.Conclusion The NHL in the studied patients was characterized by a severe course andmultiorgan involvement, and stage III and IV were the main presenting stages at diagnosis.The high rates of marrow involvement, extranodal involvement and advanced clinical stagesin NHL as compared to HL, which are shared by previous studies worldwide, explain its lessfavourable outcomes as shown by the current study.

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The article was added to IASJ on 2019-04-07

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