Nasopharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia following treatment of patients with Hodgkin's disease.

Nasopharyngeal tomography was performed in 64 patients following treatment of Hodgkin's disease. Symmetric soft tissue mass involving roof and lateral walls of the nasopharynx was revealed in 33 cases, of which 24 underwent biopsies from the nasopharynx. Histology of biopsy specimens detected characteristic lymphoid hyperplasia. Its frequency was found to be influenced by the mode of previous treatment. Its occurrence was more frequent amongst those having received total nodal irradiation (TNI) as to those with extended fields irradiation (EFI), the difference proved to be statistically significant. This finding supports our hypothesis that nasopharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia is a compensatory mechanism evoked by damage of lymphoid tissue due to previous therapy. Nasopharyngeal biopsy or a close follow-up is proposed, depending on the shape of nasopharyngeal mass and the condition of cervical lymph node area.