Clinicopathologic and immunophenotypic study of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Korea. Lymphoreticular Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists.

This study sponsored by the Lymphoreticular Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists was carried out to provide nationwide data about the histopathologic-immunophenotypic features of malignant lymphomas in Korea. Two hundred and ninety Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) among 312 malignant lymphomas collected from three representative areas in Korea were histologically reclassified. Two hundred and fifty three cases were immunohistochemically studied. T-cell lymphoma comprised 35.2% of NHL in this study and showed a quite comparable incidence to that of Japan and China, but it was much higher than in Western countries. A very low prevalence rate of the follicular variety (4.0%) and a higher propensity of primary extranodal involvement (60%) are additional characteristics of NHL in Korea. The most common histologic subtype of B cell lymphoma was diffuse large cell type, whereas the most common subtype of T cell lymphoma was diffuse mixed small and large cell type.