Clinicopathological Spectrum of B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Pakistan Population: A Single-Center Study

Rashida Saleem; Anila Chughtai; Ghazi Zafar; Omar Chughtai; Saira Javeed; Akhtar S Chughtai

doi:10.7759/cureus.34298

Clinicopathological Spectrum of B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Pakistan Population: A Single-Center Study

Cureus. 2023 Jan 28;15(1):e34298. doi: 10.7759/cureus.34298. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Rashida Saleem¹, Anila Chughtai¹, Ghazi Zafar¹, Omar Chughtai¹, Saira Javeed¹, Akhtar S Chughtai¹

Affiliation

¹ Histopathology, Chughtai Institute of Pathology, Lahore, PAK.

Abstract

Background B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a common malignancy worldwide and in the Pakistani population. In our population, there was limited information regarding the clinicopathological characteristics of B-cell NHL. This study assessed the disease spectrum and most prevalent subtypes of B-cell NHL. Methodology An analysis of 548 cases was conducted in this cross-sectional study between January 2021 and September 2022, using a non-probability consecutive sampling approach. Patient age, gender, site of involvement, and diagnosis were documented according to the 5th edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumors of Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissue, published in 2018. Data were entered and analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0, Armonk, NY). Results The mean age of the patients was 47.73±20.44 years. There were 369 males (67.34%) and 179 females (32.66%). The most prevalent type of B-cell NHL was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (58.94%), followed by chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) (13.14%), Burkitt lymphoma (9.85%), and precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (5.11%). In contrast to low-grade B-cell NHL (22.99%), high-grade B-cell NHL was more common (77.01%). Nodal involvement was observed in 62.04% of cases. The cervical region was the most common nodal site of involvement (62.04%), and the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was the most common extranodal site (48.29%). Conclusion The incidence of B-cell NHL is higher in older age groups. The most common nodal site was the cervical region, whereas the extranodal site was the GIT. The most reported subtype was DLBCL, followed by CLL/SLL, and Burkitt lymphoma. The prevalence of high-grade B-cell NHL is higher than that of low-grade B-cell NHL.

Keywords: b-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma; burkitt lymphoma; chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma; diffuse large b-cell lymphoma; precursor b-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.