Simultaneous Hodgkin's disease in three siblings with identical HLA-genotype.

We report 3 cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD) within a family of seven children. All three children had mixed cellularity type in different stages of the disease (IV-B, III-A, and II-A). The diagnosis was made within a one-month interval. HLA typing shows an identical genotype in the 3 HD patients, which was different from the rest of the family. One of the patients developed an idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) with temporary response to prednisone and MOPP-C chemotherapy that subsided after splenectomy. The HLA identity, in addition to the simultaneous onset of the HD, suggests a combination of both genetic and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of this disease.