MANY or all of the textbooks sitting on our shelves are dead wrong; Hodgkin disease is often a curable neoplasm.
For the physician who sees a wide range of diagnostic problems, the chances are fairly good that he or she will encounter patients with signs or symptoms suggestive of Hodgkin disease; only a few cases will eventually be diagnosed as Hodgkin disease or other malignant neoplasm. However, early diagnosis may not only improve the chances of cure, but may also reduce the harshness of the treatment.
Diagnostic Pitfalls
The diagnosis of Hodgkin disease is generally an easy one, but, like all diseases, occasionally presents perplexing problems. The majority of patients first appear to have asymptomatic lymphadenopathy. The following points are useful in regard to lymph node biopsy.The surgeon should select one of the larger nodes for biopsy, as small, superficial nodes may be normal or contain only small