The distribution of non‐burkitt, non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas in Uganda in relation to malarial endemicity

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Abstract
Biopsies of malignant lymphomas collected from all districts of Uganda, filed in the Kampala Cancer Registry for the 8‐year period 1966–1973, were reviewed. This review confirmed a relatively low frequency of follicle‐centre‐cell lymphomas with a follicular growth pattern and the geographical co‐distribution between malaria and Burkitt's lymphoma (BL). It also showed a similar, though less marked, association between non‐Burkitt, non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NBNHL) and malarial endemicity, and a correlation in the regional incidence between BL and NBNHL in both comparisons, these associations were strong for high‐grade lymphomas and weak for low‐grade neoplasms. BL and other NHL may therefore share, to a varying degree, some common pathogenesis. The excess in frequency of NBNHL of high‐grade malignancy in malarial endemic areas appears to be in contrast to Western countries where most non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas are of low‐grade malignancy.