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Maurie Markman, MD, President, Medicine & Science
This page was updated on May 26, 2022.
There are two types of Hodgkin lymphoma. About 95 percent of all cases are classical (or classic) Hodgkin lymphoma. This form of the disease is divided into four subtypes:
Nodular sclerosis: This is the most common sub-type of classical Hodgkin lymphoma. It often occurs in children and young adults, especially young women, and is most often found in the chest and/or neck. This sub-type may cause fibrous scars in the lymph nodes.
Mixed cellularity: This accounts for about 25 percent of all classical Hodgkin lymphoma cases and is more common among older adults. This sub-type is often found in the abdomen.
Lymphocyte-rich: This form of Hodgkin lymphoma accounts for 5 percent of all classical cases and is most often diagnosed in men.
Lymphocyte-depleted: This extremely rare disease represents less than 1 percent of all Hodgkin lymphomas and is most often diagnosed in older adults or people with HIV.
A less common type is nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL), which affects about 5 percent of Hodgkin lymphoma patients. NLPHL is characterized by the presence of so-called popcorn cells, lobular versions of Reed-Sternberg cells that resemble popcorn. NLPHL is most often diagnosed in middle-aged adults.
Next topic: What are the stages of Hodgkin lymphoma?