Survival of burkitt's lymphoma patients in Ghana

Abstract

Of 141 suspected cases of Burkitt's lymphoma referred from all over Ghana between November 1965 and June 30, 1969, the diagnosis of Burkitt's lymphoma was confirmed histologically in 60. This report deals with survival of all 50 treated and evaluable cases. The overall estimated long term survival rate was 38·5% calculated actuarially. It was 63·2% for Stage I (10 of 18); 20·0% for Stage II (2 of 10); and 25·4% for Stages III and IV combined (3 of 22), thus confirming the value of staging as a rough guide to prognosis. Six Stage I patients who died all had large tumors. These results have been compared with a similar study by Morrow et al. (1967) from Uganda.