Relative Increased Incidence of Childhood Hodgkin's Disease in Peru

Summary

One hundred fifty cases of Hodgkin's disease have been diagnosed at the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas of Peru between 1952 and 1964. Sixty-one of these (40.7%) were under 15 years of age. The proportion of cases in the 1st decade of life (30%) is much higher than that found in other reported series. The male/female ratio parallels that in all other reported series, both for patients under 15 years and for the older group. Although the greater number of children under 10 years in Peru as compared to the United States may be an important factor in the increased incidence of Hodgkin's disease in children, it is not sufficient to explain the remarkable difference reported in this series. Such factors as race, socioeconomic conditions, nutrition, and immunologic status may be factors contributing to the early occurrence of Hodgkin's disease.