Prevalence and demographic characteristics of Hodgkin lymphoma in Colombia, according to Ministry of Health data

Introduction: Hodgkin lymphoma accounts for approximately 10% of lymphoma cases. The epidemiology of Hodgkin lymphoma has always been a source of fascination to researchers due to its heterogeneous characteristics. Since 1993 in Colombia, the coverage of health services has been extended, and there is now an extensive registry of healthcare processes through the Social Protection Comprehensive Information System. The aim of our study was to calculate the prevalence, and describe the demographic characteristics, of Hodgkin lymphoma in Colombia. Material and methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study with data from the Comprehensive Social Protection Information System of the Ministry of Health of Colombia between 2015 and 2019. Results: 4,396 cases were identified, giving a prevalence of 8.9 per 100,000 inhabitants; of these, 55% were men, with a male:female ratio of 1.2:1, with a higher prevalence in the 75–79 years age group. The departments with the highest prevalence were Risaralda (13.33), Bogotá D.C. (13.30), Boyacá (11.9), Quindío (11.49) and Santander (11.44). Conclusions: Our prevalence is higher than that reported based on population-based cancer registries in Colombia 5.4 per 100,000 inhabitants between 2016 and 2020. We suggest that the differences found are due to the lack of population-based cancer registries in Colombian cities in which there is a higher prevalence of this entity and greater aging of the population.