STAGING OF HODGKIN DISEASE IN CHILDREN - COMPARISON OF CT AND LYMPHOGRAPHY WITH LAPAROTOMY

Proper therapy for Hodgkin disease requires accurate staging of the disease. We compared the value of CT and lymphography with that of laparotomy for staging newly diagnosed Hodgkin disease in 46 children. The laparotomy revealed disease in one or more subdiaphragmatic sites in 46%. Correlation of the imaging studies with the laparotomy findings showed that lymphography has a greater sensitivity (80%) than does CT (40%) in detecting retroperitoneal lymph nodes. The sensitivity of CT in detecting splenic involvement was only 19%, presumably because of the small size of tumor deposits in involved spleens. Staging laparotomy altered the clinical stage in 37% of children, which resulted in a significant change of therapy in those patients. Although lymphography and, to a lesser degree, CT are useful for staging of Hodgkin disease, laparotomy continues to be the most important tool in choosing appropriate therapy for children with Hodgkin disease.