Age and sex as factors influencing remission duration in African Burkitt's lymphoma.

The frequency of Burkitt's lymphoma peaks in children six to nine years of age and is twice as high in males as in females. To determine if age or sex had any relationship to outcome of therapy, the authors examined the experience of 387 patients treated for Burkitt's lymphoma at the Burkitt Tumor Project, Accra, Ghana, between 1966 and 1978. No age or sex relationship could be demonstrated with overall survival. However, among children without central nervous system disease who achieved an initial remission, the relapse rates were higher for those diagnosed initially in the age interval 6-9 years than for those diagnosed at younger or older ages. This pattern was seen for each stage of the disease as well as overall. Sex did not influence relapse rate. The relationship of these findings to the Epstein-Barr virus and malaria, both suspected factors in the etiology of this disease, is discussed, but neither appears to explain our results.