Pathological and clinical characteristics of 1,248 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas from a regional cancer hospital in Shandong, China.

INTRODUCTION Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) in China appear to have many characteristics different from those Western countries, but clinical studies to provide details have been rare so far. METHODS This study retrospectively analyzed the characteristics of clinical and pathological data for the 1248 NHL patients in the Shandong region of China between 2002 and 2010. RESULTS From 2002 to 2010, the number of clinical cases of NHL increased year by year. Among the total, 64.7% were B-cell NHL, 30.3% were T-cell NHL, including: diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (40.9%), extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (NK/T) (10.0%); peripheral T cell lymphoma, unspecified (PTL) (9.2%); follicular lymphoma (FL) (6.4%); extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma (MALT) (5.4%); precursor T lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-LBL) (4.5%); and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) (3.2%). The average age of onset was 47.7 ∓ 16.3 (18-85), and the male to female ratio was 1.57:1. Compared with Shanghai and Shanxi in China, the proportion of NK/T cell lymphoma in this region was higher. In comparison with other countries, the FL and CLL/SLL in this region were significantly lower, while the incidence of T-cell lymphoma was significantly higher than that in the United States and Europe. CONCLUSIONS The clinical and pathological distribution of NHL in Shandong region of China is consistent with that of Asian populations, but with significant difference from the Western countries. The NK/T cell lymphoma in this region was significantly higher.