Malignant lymphoma reference centres: GDR, Hungary and Poland, 1979.

In the present paper, the more important data on malignant lymphoma cases seen by the Malignant Lymphoma Reference Centres of the GDR, Hungary and Poland in 1979 are summarized. Altogether 655 new malignant lymphomas were diagnosed pathohistologically, 141 of them (21.5%) representing Hodgkin's disease and 514 (78.5%) non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphomas. Besides, 16 cases of malignant histiocytosis were recorded in the three Centres. The ratio of Hodgkin's disease to non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma (see above) and that of low-grade to high-grade tumours (68.5% vs 31.5%) were similar in the three Centres. Ways of further development of the collaboration of the Centres and the measures necessary to increase the comparability of the accumulated material are discussed.