Bone Involvement in Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Clinical Features and Outcome

Acta Haematol. 2018;140(3):178-182. doi: 10.1159/000490489. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Abstract

Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is now a highly curable disease, with an improving 5-year survival rate that has now reached 86%. At the time of presentation, HL is usually almost entirely confined to the lymph nodes. We performed a retrospective single-institution study of 384 cases with a median follow-up of 44 months, with the aim of identifying clinical and radiological characteristics and outcomes of patients with bone HL; 32 patients (8%) had primary bone involvement, always with concurrent nodal disease. These included 22 men (69%) and 10 women (31%) with the median age as 41 years. Advanced stages and nodular sclerosis histology prevailed among the subgroup. Radiographic features of bone HL are not specific but indicate a destructive malignant process with osteosclerosis and/or osteolysis. With current chemotherapeutic regimens, the long-term prognosis of patients with osseous HL appears good. The presence of bone lesions in HL should not be interpreted as implying a worse prognosis than without bone involvement.

Keywords: Bone; Extralymphatic; Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Bone Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Bone Neoplasms / mortality
  • Female
  • Hodgkin Disease / diagnosis*
  • Hodgkin Disease / mortality
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography
  • Prognosis
  • Progression-Free Survival
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Survival Analysis
  • Young Adult