Prognostic Signs in Hodgkin's Disease

The marked variations in the survival of different patients with Hodgkin's disease have given rise to a number of proposed prognostic factors. This report reevaluates these factors by comparing a group of patients with an extremely rapid course against a group of long-term survivors to determine whether a patient with Hodgkin's disease when first seen presents any clinically detectable signs that may aid in estimating the prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHOD The hospital charts of 1,000 patients with Hodgkin's disease were reviewed, and 26 patients were found whose total duration of disease from the first estimated symptom to death was six months or less. These patients were then compared with a second group of 73 patients who survived more than 10 years after a positive pathological diagnosis had been made. Neither of the groups is intended to show an index of survival, since, particularly in the long-term group, many cases were