Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in Childhood

Lymphomas are the third most common group of cancers in children and adolescents in the United States, accounting for approximately 13 percent of newly diagnosed cancers in this age group.1 Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas represent approximately 60 percent of these diagnoses, and Hodgkin's disease accounts for the remainder.2,3 Approximately 500 cases of childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma occur annually in the United States.4 Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are categorized as low, intermediate, or high grade on the basis of their clinical aggressiveness. Low- and intermediate-grade tumors predominate in adults, whereas more than 90 percent of children with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have high-grade tumors. This difference is . . .