KidsHealth (Hodgekin's Disease)

/Home/General Definitions/Hodgkin Disease

Hodgkin's disease is a type of lymphoma. Lymphoma (say: lim-foh-mah) is cancer of the lymphatic system and is the third most common type of cancer in kids and teens ages 10 to 14. But it is still very rare for kids to get it.

The lymphatic system is the system in the body that is responsible for fighting off infections and keeping you healthy. It's made up of your tonsils, spleen, bone marrow, and chains of lymph nodes (rounded masses of tissue found throughout the body). Although many types of cancer can spread to the lymph system, lymphoma actually begins in the cells of the lymph system itself.

Hodgkin’s disease is named for Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, who described several cases of the cancer within the lymph system in 1832. About 40 years later, other doctors began to report different types of lymphomas.

In the United States, approximately 1,700 children and adolescents younger than 20 are diagnosed with lymphomas each year. For younger children, non-Hodgkins lymphoma is more common than Hodgkin’s disease, but the reverse is true for adolescents.