Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies Hodgkin lymphoma into 2 main groups:

• Classical types
• Nodular lymphocyte predominant type

Classical types of Hodgkin lymphoma: There are four (4) types of classical Hodgkin lymphoma. The classical type is confirmed by the histological presence of the ‘Reed-Sternberg cells.’

What are Reed-Sternberg cells? These are a type of B lymphocyte which is larger than usual and bears two nuclei. These are the abnormal cancerous cells in classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

The 4 types of classical Hodgkin lymphoma are:

• Nodular sclerosing (Most common subtype)
• Mixed cellularity
• Lymphocyte rich
• Lymphocyte depleted.

Nodular lymphocyte predominant type: The nodular lymphocyte predominant type is a localized and slow growing of Hodgkin lymphoma. This type accounts for about 5% cases of Hodgkin lymphoma and is more common in older people. This type is also a histologically distinct group as it has very few Reed-Sternberg cells. There is a predominance of other abnormal cells.