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Symptoms Of Hodgkin’s Disease

Regarding symptoms of Hodgkin’s disease most often involve a swollen lymph gland of the cervical region or in the space between the heart and the lungs (mediastinum).

A typical symptom is a skin itch (pruritus), but an otherwise unexplained fever and night sweats are also symptoms that should make the physician or patient think of the possibility of Hodgkin’s disease. Of course there are many other illnesses where one or more of such symptoms can also be present. Weight loss is more likely to be found when internal lymph nodes(abdominal cavity, mediastinal area) are affected. Occasionally a peculiar type of fever can be present, where several days of high fever is followed by a few days of normal body temperature.

Another peculiar Hodgkin’s disease symptom is an immediate pain following the drinking of alcoholic beverages in the area of the diseased lymph glands. Invasion of certain organs will give organ specific symptoms. For instance, obstruction of bile ducts around the liver will produce jaundice.

 Symptoms Of Hodgkin’s Disease (Skin Itch)

Symptoms Of Hodgkin’s Disease (Skin Itch)

Invasion of bones will lead to compression fractures in vertebral bodies and pathological bone fractures in the long bones of the body. Intracranial spread of Hodgkin’s disease, skin involvement or gastric lesions would suggest HIV-associated Hodgkin’s disease.

 

References:

1. N Engl J Med 329(14):987-994,1997.

2. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. 17th edition, editors M.Beers and     R.Berkow. Whitehouse Station, N.J., 1999.

3. Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology. 4th edition, edited by V.T. DeVita et al.,      Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1993. Chapters 51 and 52.

4. Cancer: Principles&Practice of Oncology. 5th edition, volume 2. Edited by Vincent T.     DeVita, Jr. et al. Lippincott-Raven Publ., Philadelphia,PA, 1997. Chapter 44,Lymphomas.

5. HY Dong et al. Mod Pathol 2001 May;14(5):472-481.

6. NL Kobrinsky et al. J Clin Oncol 2001 May 1;19(9):2390-2396.

7. Conn’s Current Therapy 2004, 56th ed., Copyright © 2004 Elsevier

8. Ferri: Ferri’s Clinical Advisor: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment, 2004 ed., Copyright © 2004 Mosby, Inc

Last modified: September 22, 2014

Disclaimer
This outline is only a teaching aid to patients and should stimulate you to ask the right questions when seeing your doctor. However, the responsibility of treatment stays in the hands of your doctor and you.