Factors Associated with Burkitt’s Lymphoma in Children at Kisumu’s Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisumu Kenya

Burkitt’s lymphoma is a highly aggressive lymphoma identified and described in the last century by Denis Burkitt in Africa having distinct characteristics and variants especially in areas endemic for malaria (Crombie & LaCasce, 2021; Ferry, 2006a). Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is an aggressive form of B cell lymphoma that can affect children and adults (López et al., 2022). Other than malaria, HIV has been suggested to have either a direct or indirect oncogenic role in Burkitt lymphoma (Atallah-Yunes et al., 2020) Clinical outcomes of Burkitt’s lymphoma are excellent in children and adolescents, but improvements are needed for adults with CNS involvement. Intensive supportive care is required at the first recognition of possible Burkitt’s lymphoma in order to prevent early death from toxicity and organ compromise (Roschewski et al., 2022). In the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification, three clinical variants of Burkitt’s lymphoma are described: endemic, sporadic, and immunodeficiency-associated types. Endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma refers to those cases occurring in African children, usually 4–7 years old, with a male: female ratio of 2:1, involving the bones of the jaw and other facial bones, as well as kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, ovaries, breast, and other extranodal sites (Ferry, 2006b)