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ODULAR SCLEROSIS (NS) is a distinctive pathologicN subtype of Hodgkin's disease (HD) that is characterized by a nodular growth pattern, intranodal collagen band formation, and the presence of lacunar cells.'-4 NS does not coexist with or transform into other pathologic subtypes of HD.'-' This has led to the proposition that "the classification of NS takes precedence over other histological types which appear to be present in the same section."' NS is the most commonly recognized histopathologic subtype of HD in many studies.'-I3 In the clinical trials of HD conducted by the British National Lymphoma Investigation (BNLI),I4 75% of the cases were classified as NS. The cellular nodules of NS may show a wide variety of cytologic appearances which range from a predominance of lymphocytes to lymphocyte depletion with numerous Hodgkin's cells.8 Since the first publication by Cross,'' there have been several reports attempting to correlate pathologic features with prognosis in NS.'6-24 The results have been generally inconclusive, largely due to the relatively small number of cases included. This prompted us to undertake a histologic review of the diagnostic lymph node biopsy spec-

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