Detection of neoplastic lymph nodes in Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Comparison between tomography and lymphography.

During a period of 17 months, 98 consecutive patients with malignant lymphoma were examined for initial staging before therapy. Both CT and lymphography were performed in 58 patients (19 patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and 39 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)), and these were included in the investigation. The results were discrepant in 26 cases where lymph node lesions were detected by only one of the two methods. In 10 patients, 5 with HD and 5 with NHL, the positive finding by one of the methods was taken as determinant of the stage. The conclusion drawn was that CT cannot completely replace lymphography without losing important information. Owing to limited resources for lymphography and CT a reduced staging programme is proposed. Judging by the present results, this reduced programme would probably mean only a minimal loss of information.