Burkitt s Lymphom An Uncommon Form Of Non Hodgkin Lymphoma

Burkitt’s lymphoma is an uncommon form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In United States, the case rate during 2001-2009 period was 0.4 cases per 100,000 population according to NCI’s SEER statistical database.1 Burkitt’s lymphoma constitutes 0.4% of all the lymphoid tumor accounting for between 40 and 50% of childhood non-Hodgkin s lymphomas (NHLs) in non-endemic areas.2-4 The sporadic form in adults accounts for 1–2% of all adult lymphomas in western Europe and the United States.5 Burkitt’s lymphoma is treated with of high-intensity, short-duration combination chemotherapy. The treatment is effective with approximately 90% of pediatric patients and up to 50-60% of adults with the disease having long term disease free survival.8-11 The rate of second primary malignancies (SPM) in Burkitt’s lymphoma patients is unknown. In this study, we analyzed the risk of SPMs in adult patients with Burkitt’s lymphoma from National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. The SEER 13 is a population based cancer database sponsored by National Cancer Institute. SEER 13 represents 13.8% of US population and covers following geographical areas - San Francisco-Oakland SMSA, Connecticut, Detroit (Metropolitan), Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, Seattle (Puget Sound), Utah, Atlanta (Metropolitan), San Jose-Monterey, Los Angeles, Alaska Natives, and Rural Georgia. The SEER program collects comprehensive cancer data from hospitals and cancer treatment centers and