Hodgkin's disease involving Waldeyer's lymphoid ring

Sixteen patients with Hodgkin's disease involving parts of Waldeyer's lymphoid ring are presented. In four of the cases in which the tonsil was affected, a granulomatous pattern of histologic change was present; this form of the Hodgkin's lesion was also present in the cervical lymph nodes of these cases. The presence of Waldeyer's ring involvement did not seem to affect the natural history of the disease process. A review of the literature citing this rare manifestation of Hodgkin's disease is given. Reasons are suggested, based on modern concepts of the pathogenesis of Hodgkin's disease, for the infrequent involvement of Waldeyer's ring.