Hodgkin's has a long and rich history.  The disease was named after Thomas Hodgkin (1798-1866), a English scholar and Quaker physician working at Guy's Hospital in England. Lymphatic disease was first described in 1666 by Malpighi although it was in Hodgkin's 1832 paper On Some Morbid Appearances of the Absorbent Glands and Spleen that cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma were well documented. Hodgkin's name was attached to the condition in 1865 in a paper by Wilks.

What now differentiates Hodgkin's lymphoma is the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells (and variations on this cell) in the cancerous area, a cell specific to Hodgkin's Disease. There is definitive evidence that the the cancerous cells are B-cell lymphocytes (white blood cells). The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) also appears to be a factor, at least in some cases - appearing in about 40-50% of Hodgkin's cases.   It has recently been found that Interleukin-13, a natural cytokine in the body, may be overproduced by Hodgkin's cancerous cells.  What causes Hodgkin's lymphoma is still being researched.

Hodgkin's lymphoma is rare in children under 5 years of age. In children under age 10, it is more common in boys than girls. About 10% to 15% of all cases of Hodgkin's are diagnosed in children 16 and under. Brothers and sisters of patients have a slightly higher risk of developing Hodgkin's as do children of a Hodgkin's parent - it is very rare though. 

Hodgkin's Disease is not contagious and the patient does not pose a risk to others in any way.

Many sources point out that the diagnosis and treatment of Hodgkin's has improved remarkably in recent years. Hodgkin's now has a high survival rate. Some doctors even go so far as to say a diagnosis of Hodgkin's is preferable to being diagnosed with another form of cancer although thinking like this may belittle the seriousness of any cancer diagnosis.

For more information on Childhood Hodgkin's Disease, please see the following pages:

• Childhood Hodgkin's Disease: Diagnosis
• Childhood Hodgkin's Disease: Treatment
• Childhood Lymphoma: Resources
• Childhood Lymphoma: Just for Kids and Teens

Other pages you may want to visit:

• Lymphoma Information Network
• Adult Hodgkin's Lymphoma Information Pages
• Hodgkin's Lymphoma - Historical Timeline of Events

More Information

• The lymph system: lymph system overview
• American Cancer Society - What Are the Key Statistics for Hodgkin (sic) Disease in Children? (new)
• US National Cancer Institute
  • Childhood Cancers Home Page (new)
  • Hodgkin's Home Page (new)
  • Questions and Answers About Care for Children and Adolescents with Cancer (new)
• BBCi Health (UK) - Childhood lymphoma (new)

References:

   Thomas Hodgkin:  

• Hodgkin's Disease, Peter M. Mauch (Editor), James O. Armitage (Editor), Volker Diehl (Editor), June 1999.
  • Chapter 30: Pediatric Hodgkin's Disease

   Origin and causes of Hodgkin's: