Biopsy of peripheral lymph nodes.

This retrospective study reviews 653 patients who had peripheral lymph node biopsies for purposes of diagnosis from 1973 to 1977. Overall, 56 per cent of the nodes had benign lesions, 29 per cent had carcinoma, and 15 per cent had lymphoma. Supraclavicular nodes had the highest incidence of metastatic carcinoma (54%), and inguinal nodes had the highest incidence of reactive hyperplasia or lymphadenitis (71%). Detailed distribution according to histological subtypes, age, and sex of patients are presented. Statistically, age is the most useful factor in estimating the probability of whether the lymphadenopathy is due to benign or malignant process. The chance that lymph adenopathy is due to malignant lymphoma is relatively constant among all age groups (11-16). However, the majority of patients younger than 30 years old had Hodgkin's disease, while older patients were more likely to have non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.