Diagnosed one of the few cases in the world of Hodgkin's lymphoma located outside of the nodules

Dr. Jerónimo Forteza, Professor of Pathology and Director of the Valencian Institute of Pathology, Catholic University of Valencia San Vicente Mártir, recently published an article in the Spanish Journal of Pathology on the case of a patient with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Most cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma arise in the lymph nodes and rarely in locations outside of the nodules. What distinguishes this case is that it is a classical Hodgkin's lymphoma with extranodal location in the thyroid. There have been only 26 cases similar to this in the scientific literature.

The results are consistent with previously reported cases, explained Dr. Forteza. "It would appear that the lesions grew over a MALT tissue created by the lymphoid proliferation of the thyroiditis. We performed differential diagnosis between the different types of lymphomas considering those most commonly occurring in extranodal lymphoid tissues. A final diagnosis was reached after consideration of the histopathology, immunophenotyping and molecular biology."

Lymphomas comprise a group of diseases that develop in the lymphatic system, which form part of the human's body immune system. Hodgkin's lymphoma is a type of malignant lymphoma whose cause is unknown and it is most common among people of 15 to 35 and 50 to 70 years old.

The director of the Valencian Institute of Pathology says that this is a disease with one of the most advanced treatments and "can be considered a paradigm of oncology. Thus, good therapeutic responses in the cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma have meant cures are between 90 and 95 percent."

"The work that contributed the most to the cure of Hodgkin's lymphoma was developed during the mid-twentieth century by Saul Rosenberg and Henry Kaplan of Stanford University (USA). Currently, the disease has sought molecular parameters and therapeutic targets that allow a more efficient treatment, although a clever combination of diagnosis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy has been fundamental, " Dr. Forteza said.

For Dr. Forteza the development of oncology "can be understood through the chronology of the treatment of Hodgkin's disease". René Clement in 1925 attempted the destruction of the lesion with radiotherapy and Rosenberg in 1968 was the first to combine radiotherapy with chemotherapy to combat this disease.