From Bench to Bedside

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is the fifth most frequent malignancy in the U.S. a malignancy afflicting approx 15 per 100,000 in the U.S. with similar figures worldwide. In 1999 the incidence was > 56,000 newly diagnosed cases and is increasing at a rate of about 3–4% per year (1, 2). It has no known risk factors, with the exception of a higher incidence among individuals with AIDS (3), and mainly tends to afflict people over 50 years of age. There is a slightly higher incidence in men than women, and a slightly higher incidence in white vs black populations. The reason for the increasing incidence rate is unknown, however, a recent Swedish study suggested a strong correlation between lymphoma rates and pesticide exposure (4,5). Other factors, for example, exposure to organic solvents such as benzene (6) have also been implicated.