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A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting
a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk
factors. For example, exposing skin to strong sunlight is a risk factor
for skin cancer. Smoking is a risk factor for cancers of the lung,
mouth, larynx (voice box), bladder, kidney, pancreas, and several other
organs.
But risk factors don't tell us everything. Having a risk
factor, or even several, does not mean that you will get the disease.
And many people who get the disease may not have had any known risk
factors. Even if a person with Hodgkin disease has a risk factor, it is
often very hard to know how much that risk factor may have contributed
to the lymphoma.
Scientists have found a few risk factors that may make a
person more likely to develop Hodgkin disease, although it's not always
clear why these factors increase risk.
Epstein-Barr virus infection/mononucleosis
People who have had infectious mononucleosis (sometimes called
mono for
short), an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), have an
increased risk of Hodgkin disease. The risk of developing Hodgkin
disease for people who have had infectious mononucleosis appears to be
a few times higher than for people who have not had the disease,
although the overall risk is still very small.
The exact role of EBV in the development of Hodgkin disease is
not clear. DNA from the virus is found in Reed-Sternberg cells in about
half of all patients with Hodgkin disease. But the other half of
patients with Hodgkin disease have no evidence of Epstein-Barr virus in
their cancer cells.
Age
Hodgkin disease is most common in early adulthood (ages 15 to
40, especially in a person's 20s) and in late adulthood (after age 55).
Gender
Hodgkin disease occurs slightly more often in males than in
females.
Geography
Hodgkin disease is most common in the United States, Canada,
and northern Europe, and is least common in Asian countries.
Family history
There is a higher risk for Hodgkin disease in brothers and
sisters of young people with this disease. The risk is very high for an
identical twin of a person with Hodgkin disease. But a family link is
still uncommon, and is seen in only around 5% of all cases.
It's not clear why family history might increase risk. Some
families may have a higher rate of Hodgkin disease because of similar
early childhood exposures to infections (such as Epstein-Barr virus),
inherited genes that make them more susceptible, or some combination of
these factors. Some researchers have found certain changes in the genes
responsible for immunity in patients with Hodgkin disease.
Socioeconomic status
The risk of Hodgkin disease is greater in people with a higher
socioeconomic background. The reason for this is not clear.
Last Medical Review: 07/21/2009
Last Revised: 07/21/2009
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