Geographical and Tribal Distribution of the African Lymphoma in Uganda

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Abstract
This report gives a detailed analysis of the age, tribal, and geographical distribution of 450 histologically proved cases of the African lymphoma seen in Uganda over the past 8 years. There is a twentyfold dL''ference between the tumor incidence in the lowland areas along the Nile, where the tumor is most common, and the incidence in the mountainous area of south-western Uganda, where the tumor is least common. This variation in incidence within Uganda correlates closely with variations in temperature. The average age in the tumor cases is lowest where the tumor is most common and highest where the tumor is least common. The incidence of jaw involvement in the Uganda cases of African lymphoma varies inversely with the age of the patient. It is 100 percent at the age of 3 and falls progressively thereafter. Although the African lymphoma is rare in adults indigenous to the lowland areas of Uganda, almost half the cases occurring in immigrants from the "lymphoma-free" mountainous area of Rwanda and Burundi are over the age of 15 years. These observations support the hypothesis that the African lymphoma may be induced by an insect-vectored agent that may be a virus. The majority of people exposed to this agent develop immunity to it and that in only rare instances is the tumor induced.