The epidemiology of classical Hodgkin lymphoma varies significantly in populations with different socioeconomic conditions. Among other changes, improvement in such conditions leads to a reduction in the association with EBV infection and predominance of the nodular sclerosis subtype. This study provides an overview of the epidemiology of 817 cases of classical Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed in five reference hospitals of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, over 54 years (1954–2008). The cases were distributed in 3 periods (1954–1979; 1980–1999; and 2000–2008). EBV-positive cases decreased from 87% to 46%. In children and adolescents (<15 years) and in young adults (15–45 years), EBV-positive cases decreased respectively from 96% to 64%, and from 85% to 32%. The percentage of male patients declined from 80% to 58%. In older patients (>45 years), the decrease in EBV infection was not significant. Nodular Sclerosis was the most common subtype in all periods. These results support the hypothesis that, in the Brazilian State of Sao Paulo, classical Hodgkin lymphoma has changed and now shows characteristics consistent with Pattern III observed in populations that experienced a similar socioeconomic transition.

ObjectiveFollicular and mantle cell lymphoma are low-grade B-cell malignancies that lack good responses to chemoimmunotherapy. This study aimed to assess retrospectively clinicopathological features and to determine independent prognostic factors for follicular and mantle cell lymphoma patients treated at two Brazilian medical centers: the Hematology and Hemotherapy Center of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), a public university hospital, and AC. Camargo Cancer Center, a specialized cancer center.MethodsTwo hundred and twenty-seven follicular and 112 mantle cell lymphoma cases were diagnosed between 1999 and 2016. Archived paraffin blocks were retrieved and reviewed. Corresponding demographics and clinical data were recovered from medical charts. Outcome analyses considered both overall and event-free survival.ResultsFor follicular lymphoma treated with the R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, vincristine sulfate, prednisone) and R-CVP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine sulfate, prednisone) regimens, both B-symptoms (p-value < 0.01 for overall and event-free survival) and high-risk Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (p-value < 0.01 for overall survival) were independently associated to worse prognosis. Maintenance with rituximab improved the prognosis (p-value < 0.01 for overall survival). For mantle cell lymphoma, B-symptoms (p-value = 0.03 for overall survival and event-free survival) and bone marrow infiltration (p-value = 0.01 for overall survival) independently predicted reduced survival, and rituximab at induction increased both event-free and overall survival (p-value < 0.01 in both analyses). Combinations of these deleterious features could identify extremely poor prognostic subgroups. The administration of rituximab was more frequent in the AC. Camargo Cancer Center, which was the institution associated with better overall survival for both neoplasias.ConclusionThis study represents the largest cohort of follicular and mantle cell lymphoma in South America thus far. Some easily assessable clinical variables were able to predict prognosis and should be considered in low-income centers. In addition, the underuse of rituximab in the Brazilian public health system should be reconsidered in future health policies.

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