Abstract
Major differences exist in the nature of leukaemia and lymphoma in low-income African children compared to those in the high-income countries. These include the absence of the peak incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in under-five-year olds that characterizes the disease in high-income countries. Conversely, chloroma association with acute myelogenous leukaemia (CA-AML/AMML) and Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) are rare in the high-income countries. This report describes clinical and laboratory as well as epidemiological features of childhood leukaemia and lymphoma reported betwen 1982 and 1984 in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. The observed pattern of distribution of childhood haematological malignancies in the city is more consistent with the observations of Ludwik Gross’s experiments on environmental influences, such as malnutrition and infections, animal leukaemogenesis, and mirroring the consequences of the primordial pressures that have shaped human genetics and pathophysiology.
Highlights
Paediatric neoplasia, though relatively rare, is important for the understanding of oncogenesis [1]
Bone marrow aspirates were routinely obtained in all cases of acute leukaemia and lymphoma and films prepared therewith were routinely processed with May Gruenwald Giemsa stain, and, in cases of acute leukaemia, with periodic acid Schiff (PAS) and Sudan Black stains
Eighty-four cases of malignant lymphoproliferative disorders and leukaemia were immunophenotyped at the Department of Haematology, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria between September 1982 and December 1984
Summary
Paediatric neoplasia, though relatively rare, is important for the understanding of oncogenesis [1]. Studies of the African childhood lymphoma, otherwise known as Burkitt’s lymphoma, in the 1960s and 1970s, led to the appreciation of the role of environmental factors in oncogenesis [2, 3]. The features of childhood leukaemia and lymphoma in low-income African countries are different from those of children in the high-income countries. These differences include: the rarity of leukaemia below the age of 5 in the former, unlike the peaking of the incidence of the disease in the age group in the latter [9,10,11,12]; the high incidence of Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) in the former, and its rarity in the latter population. The disease, for instance, is frequently associated with solid-tumour formation (chloromas) in the developing countries, leading to its being designated as ‘chloroma-associated acute myeloid leukaemia (CA-AML/AMML)’ [13, 14], with clinical features that make it almost indistinguishable from the more common BL
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
