Burkitt's Lymphoma

Abstract

TWO decades have passed since Denis Burkitt, a British surgeon working in Uganda, originally described the tumor that now bears his name.¹ The discovery that this tumor has distinctive clinical and histologic features among the malignant lymphomas^{2 , 3} was soon followed by the observation of its dramatic response to chemotherapy.^{4 5 6} The occurrence of spontaneous regressions and long-term remissions after treatment led Burkitt and others to postulate a tumor-directed host immune response.^{4 , 7} Burkitt was also intrigued by the apparent geographic limitation of this lymphoma. His renowned "tumor safaris" defined a "lymphoma belt" with distinct topographic and climatic features that originally suggested a . . .