Hematologic Malignancies Program

Hodgkin's Disease

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Risk Factors

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 7,400 new cases of Hodgkin's disease will be diagnosed in the United States in 2001 and about 1,300 people will die of the disease. In recent years the death rate has fallen as the result of improved treatments for the disease.

There are no major risk factors for Hodgkin's disease, and the cause of the disease is not known. It most commonly affects young adults and people older than 55 years of age. However, it can also occur in children, and it is treated differently in children than in adults. People with reduced immune systems, such as organ transplant patients and persons with AIDS, may have a greater risk of developing Hodgkin's disease.


This page was last updated on: March 3, 2008.