Hodgkin lymphoma: pathology, pathogenesis, and a plethora of potential prognostic predictors

Abstract

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) encompasses 2 unique clinicopathologic entities, classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) (∼95% of cases) and nodular lymphocyte predominant HL (∼5% of cases). Both subtypes demonstrate a paucity of surreptitious (in CHL) neoplastic B cells within a background of reactive inflammatory cells underscoring both the relatedness of these 2 entities to each other, as well as their distinction from other types of lymphoid neoplasia. Clinically, they are primarily nodal diseases that disseminate in a predictable manner to contiguous nodal regions. The biology of HL as a whole, as well as the genetic and pathologic features that distinguish CHL from nodular lymphocyte predominant HL and other lymphomas has been the subject of a wealth of investigation in recent decades. The aim of this review is to detail the pathologic features of HL and to highlight the recent insights into its molecular basis and the myriad prognostic markers being described.