[Hodgkin disease with nodular lymphocytic predominance or type I (paragranuloma of Poppema-Lennert): a clinico-pathological entity. Study of 21 cases and review of the literature].

We have studied clinical and pathological features of a series of 21 patients followed at the hospital Saint-Louis for a nodal nodular lymphocytic predominant Hodgkin's disease or paragranuloma of Poppema-Lennert. Histopathologically, all these lymph nodes were involved by a nodular proliferation of atypical cells, called pop corn cells with a B cell phenotype, admixed with small lymphocytes. Clinically, most patients were young males. The disease was localized except in one case and the prognosis good (only one death). However, one patient relapsed and another developped an aggressive lymphoma. These results were in keeping with different studies in the literature and confirmed that the paragranuloma is a clinicopathological entity, distinct from the classical Hodgkin's disease. Nowadays, it's strongly suggested that the pop corn cell is of centroblastic origin. Treatment remains controversial, however, according to most of the authors, patients with localized disease could be followed without treatment after surgical excision.