The need for subtype-specific statistics on lymphomas.
Dear Sir or Madam:
The SEER website has improved, but the utility of the statistics for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas continue to suffer because subtypes of the disease are not yet provided.
For comparison purposes SEER provides the following useful categories for Leukemias:
Lymphocytic Leukemia
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Myeloid and Monocytic Leukemia
Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma:
none
As you know, incidence, prevalence and survival vary significantly based on subtypes of lymphoma. Trends in survival also vary significantly based on the clinical tempo of the disease - aggressive versus indolent, as does, presumably, conditional survival.
We do not know yet what NHL entities are available to SEER (in the raw data sets), but we ask that you provide subtype specific information on NHL along these lines as soon as possible:
Blood cancers
Lymphomas
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Aggressive
DLBCL
T-cell
MCL
Other (Aggressive - defined entities)
Indolent
Follicular
MALT
T-cell
Other (Indolent - defined entities)
Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Leukemias:
Lymphocytic Leukemia
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Myeloid and Monocytic Leukemia
Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Note: As you know, CLL is b-lymphocyte cancer. Presumably, it's classified as a leukemia based on presentation and other factors, but it could easily be considered a lymphoma.
Sincerely,
Karl Schwartz
Patients Against Lymphoma