Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview in Albania during the Last Decade
Background: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a rare malignancy characterized by a malignant proliferation of cells in the reticuloendothelial system, mainly lymph node, and the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells with a relatively good prognosis compared to other pediatric malignancies. This study aimed to pro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Medical Research and Development Corporation
2024-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Biomedicine |
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| Online Access: | http://www.ijbm.org/articles/i53/ijbm_14(1)_oa2.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797283327397330944 |
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| author | Mirela Xhafa Mirzana Kapllanaj Denada Paja Enkeleda Duka Donjeta Bali Anila Godo |
| author_facet | Mirela Xhafa Mirzana Kapllanaj Denada Paja Enkeleda Duka Donjeta Bali Anila Godo |
| author_sort | Mirela Xhafa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a rare malignancy characterized by a malignant proliferation of cells in the reticuloendothelial system, mainly lymph node, and the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells with a relatively good prognosis compared to other pediatric malignancies. This study aimed to produce epidemiologic and clinical data on HL for Albania, aiming for a better understanding of the disease presentation to diagnose it at an earlier stage with the result of a better outcome.
Methods and Results: This single-center, retrospective study performed in the Mother Theresa University Hospital Center (Tirana, Albania) analyzed epidemiological and clinical data of pediatric patients under 14 years of age diagnosed with HL during a 10-year study period from 2012 to 2022. During the last 10 years, 25 children (ages 0-14) were diagnosed with HL at UHC "Mother Theresa," Tirana. From the demographic data of our study, most patients (68%) were in the age group of 10-14. The male-to-female ratio was 2.12:1. The first clinical presentation was mainly because of lymphadenopathy in 92% of patients, with the presence of B symptoms in 68%.
In most cases, the CBC was not affected, yet 24% of patients had high platelets, and 12% had low RBCs, while WBCs increased in 16% of patients and decreased in 12%. Lymphopenia and monocytosis were found in more than half of cases. Around 68% of patients had high levels of LDH and CRP. ESR and ALP were high in 64% of patients, Ferritin was high in 32%, and fibrinogen level was high in 28%.
According to the Ann Arbor system, most of our patients were at stage II (32%), followed closely by stage I (28%) and stage III (24%), and only 16% were at stage IV upon presentation.
The most common histopathologic type was nodular sclerosis classical HL, presented in 44% of cases.
Conclusion: HL is a relatively frequent pediatric malignancy in young adults, affecting mainly males, and is diagnosed at a relatively early stage in our country. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T17:30:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c40fc333042d4e45a66485b65508d8a9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2158-0510 2158-0529 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T17:30:27Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | International Medical Research and Development Corporation |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Biomedicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-c40fc333042d4e45a66485b65508d8a92024-03-02T18:18:45ZengInternational Medical Research and Development CorporationInternational Journal of Biomedicine2158-05102158-05292024-03-01141262910.21103/Article14(1)_OA2Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview in Albania during the Last DecadeMirela Xhafa0Mirzana Kapllanaj1Denada Paja2Enkeleda Duka3Donjeta Bali4Anila Godo5Pediatric Department, Onco-Hematology Service, University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa,” Tirana, AlbaniaPediatric Department, Onco-Hematology Service, University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa,” Tirana, AlbaniaPediatric Department, Onco-Hematology Service, University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa,” Tirana, AlbaniaPediatric Department, Onco-Hematology Service, University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa,” Tirana, AlbaniaPediatric Department, Onco-Hematology Service, University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa,” Tirana, AlbaniaPediatric Department, Onco-Hematology Service, University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa,” Tirana, AlbaniaBackground: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a rare malignancy characterized by a malignant proliferation of cells in the reticuloendothelial system, mainly lymph node, and the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells with a relatively good prognosis compared to other pediatric malignancies. This study aimed to produce epidemiologic and clinical data on HL for Albania, aiming for a better understanding of the disease presentation to diagnose it at an earlier stage with the result of a better outcome. Methods and Results: This single-center, retrospective study performed in the Mother Theresa University Hospital Center (Tirana, Albania) analyzed epidemiological and clinical data of pediatric patients under 14 years of age diagnosed with HL during a 10-year study period from 2012 to 2022. During the last 10 years, 25 children (ages 0-14) were diagnosed with HL at UHC "Mother Theresa," Tirana. From the demographic data of our study, most patients (68%) were in the age group of 10-14. The male-to-female ratio was 2.12:1. The first clinical presentation was mainly because of lymphadenopathy in 92% of patients, with the presence of B symptoms in 68%. In most cases, the CBC was not affected, yet 24% of patients had high platelets, and 12% had low RBCs, while WBCs increased in 16% of patients and decreased in 12%. Lymphopenia and monocytosis were found in more than half of cases. Around 68% of patients had high levels of LDH and CRP. ESR and ALP were high in 64% of patients, Ferritin was high in 32%, and fibrinogen level was high in 28%. According to the Ann Arbor system, most of our patients were at stage II (32%), followed closely by stage I (28%) and stage III (24%), and only 16% were at stage IV upon presentation. The most common histopathologic type was nodular sclerosis classical HL, presented in 44% of cases. Conclusion: HL is a relatively frequent pediatric malignancy in young adults, affecting mainly males, and is diagnosed at a relatively early stage in our country.http://www.ijbm.org/articles/i53/ijbm_14(1)_oa2.pdfpediatric hodgkin lymphomalymph nodecomplete blood countdiagnosis |
| spellingShingle | Mirela Xhafa Mirzana Kapllanaj Denada Paja Enkeleda Duka Donjeta Bali Anila Godo Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview in Albania during the Last Decade International Journal of Biomedicine pediatric hodgkin lymphoma lymph node complete blood count diagnosis |
| title | Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview in Albania during the Last Decade |
| title_full | Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview in Albania during the Last Decade |
| title_fullStr | Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview in Albania during the Last Decade |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview in Albania during the Last Decade |
| title_short | Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview in Albania during the Last Decade |
| title_sort | pediatric hodgkin lymphoma overview in albania during the last decade |
| topic | pediatric hodgkin lymphoma lymph node complete blood count diagnosis |
| url | http://www.ijbm.org/articles/i53/ijbm_14(1)_oa2.pdf |
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