Herpes Zoster-Varicella Infections and Lymphoma

Abstract

In 1 130 patients with lymphoma seen at the Stanford Medical Center between 1959 and 1969, there were 129 cases of herpes zoster-varicella infections, an incidence of 11.4%, including 21 disseminated cases. Ninety-one of the 592 patients with Hodgkin's disease (15.4%) had herpes zoster-varicella infections at some time during the course of their disease. These cases are analyzed according to age, clinical status, stage of lymphoma when infection occurred, and for survival after either localized or disseminated zoster. In addition, the effects of antitumor chemotherapy, including combination chemotherapy, are presented. A significantly increased incidence of herpes zoster-varicella infections was found in the 150 patients with Hodgkin's disease who underwent splenectomy either as part of their initial evaluation and staging or during the course of their disease, although survival of this group was apparently unchanged by the infectious complication of their lymphoma.