Hodgkin Disease

Hodgkin disease (also known as Hodgkin lymphoma) is cancer of the immune system's lymph tissue. The majority of cases are classical Hodgkin's disease, while just 5% of cases are nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin disease. Around 9,000 new cases of Hodgkin's disease are diagnosed in the United States each year, and the five-year survival rate approaches 90%. The majority of patients are between ages 15 and 40. Risk factors include a family history of the disease, HIV infection, and previous cases of "mono" – mononucleosis caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. Symptoms include fever, chills, and night sweats; loss of appetite and weight loss; and painless swelling of the lymph nodes, spleen, or other immune tissue. The stages of Hodgkin's disease range from I to IV, depending on the number of lymph nodes affected and whether or not the disease has spread. The majority of patients diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease are treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation.