Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in northern India. A retrospective analysis of 238 cases.

A retrospective analysis was performed of 238 patients, aged 12 years and older, with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, between September 1975 and December 1982. Pathologic material was reviewed and classified according to the modified Rappaport classification. The most common histologic type encountered was diffuse histiocytic lymphoma (39%), followed by diffuse poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma (29%), and diffuse mixed histiocytic and lymphocytic lymphoma (9%). Nodular lymphomas constituted 9% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. A lower frequency of nodular lymphomas, a lower median age of onset (45 years), and a higher male to female ratio (4.5:1) as compared with Western countries was observed. Survival information on 90 patients revealed no effect of age, sex, stage of disease, and "B" symptoms on survival, whereas histologic diagnosis had a significant influence on survival (P less than 0.05). A median survival of 24 months in 58 patients receiving chemotherapy is comparable to that reported by other investigators.