Hodgkin's disease of the jaws. Review of the literature and report of a case.

Hodgkin's disease of the jaws is extremely rare. A review of the literature has revealed only seven previously reported cases, five in the mandible and two in the maxilla. A new case of Hodgkin's disease of the mandible is reported. The patient had features of chronic osteomyelitis of the mandible. After resection, a Hodgkin's type of infiltrate was found in the mandibular condyle. The histologic subtype was lymphocyte-depleted, and the clinical staging was IV-B. The patient died 7 months after the mandibular lesion was discovered. From previous reported cases and this additional case, it appears that the prognosis for patients with Hodgkin's disease of the mandible is very poor.