A Historical Tale of Two Lymphomas: Part II: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In 1865, Thomas Hodgkin was immortalised by his peer, Samuel Wilks, in the annals of medical literature through the eponymous use of the term ‘Hodgkin’s disease’.1,2 Consequently, it must have seemed logical for the medical community of the time to name the other, more heterogeneous group of neoplastic lymph node enlargements as non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). A century and a half later, NHL has emerged from those shadows and is now recognised as the leading haematological malignancy worldwide.3 The second of this two-part medical history article provides a succinct narrative of what transpired in these 150 years to pique scientific curiosity and establish NHL in the centre stage. It follows the trail of classifications, aetiology and epidemiology, prognostic factors and, finally, the elusive holy grail of treatment which marked this period of medical history.