Epidemiologic and histologic patterns of Hodgkin's disease in blacks.

The epidemiologic pattern for Hodgkin's disease in blacks from two different communities in the United States was characterized by higher childhood rates and significantly lower rates in the young adult and older age groups than for whites. In addition, a significantly greater number of black patients belonged to low occupational groups. These observations and the different epidemiologic patterns for blacks in Southern Transvaal, South Africa, and other countries suggest that the natural history of Hodgkin's disease might be strongly influenced by social milieu. The variability in Rye subtype distribution, particularly for whites and blacks in the young adult and other age groups raise the possibility that age related environmental factors might be important in the histologic reactivity of the host.