We report an unusual case of a 44-year-old female patient with ‘malignant’ ascites caused by ectopic foci of extramedullary hematopoiesis in the course of agnogenic myeloid metaplasia. The patient had suffered also from severe Coombs-positive acquired hemolytic anemia and had been splenectomized. Two years after splenectomy, ascites caused by peritoneal implants of hemato-poietic tissue appeared. The ascites responded promptly to treatment with busulfan and hydroxyurea. The clinical picture, treatment and a review of the literature concerning the mechanisms of this uncommon evolution are discussed.

Seventeen children with non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma observed recently at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center are described. Two clinical forms of the disease are apparent: poorly‐differentiated lymphocytic lymphosarcoma presenting with mediastinal and peripheral nodal localization and occasional bone marrow infiltration, and Burkitt's lymphoma. In the tatter, predominantly affecting the Arab population, abdominal localization was, in most cases, the presenting symptom, with CNS and jaw involvement in some patients. The Burkitt's lymphoma patients deteriorated rapidly. No relationship was found between the EB virus antibody titer and the histopathologic or clinical features of the disease. The possible relationship between the high prevalence of childhood non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma and abdominal lymphoma with malabsorption on the one hand, and the low prevalence of childhood acute lymphatic leukemia in the Arab population on the other warrants further regional studies.

Lymphocyte subpopulations were characterized by means of monoclonal antibodies in 25 women with habitual abortion and 21 multiparous normal women. Compared to nonpregnant women (N = 8), pregnant normal women were associated with significantly lower helper-to-suppressor ratios (1.71 +/- 0.41 versus 2.37 +/- 0.66). In contrast in pregnant women with habitual abortion (N = 13) the ratio remained high (2.32 +/- 0.73). Failure to increase the number of suppressors and a significant rise in helpers caused this increased ratio. We discuss the possible mechanisms and etiological importance of this finding in habitual abortion.

All records of newly diagnosed malignant neoplasms among Israeli residents younger than 15 years of age were reviewed for a 5‐year period. In all, there were 594 children with malignancies, yielding a mean annual incidence of 14.1 per 100,000, with a male: female ratio of 1.2:1. Leukemia, tumor of brain and lymphoma constituted the three main types and 67.2% of all neoplasms. With most types, rates of incidence were higher among Arabic children than Jewish children, in contrast with available data regarding adults. The differences were most pronounced in Wilm's tumor and lymphoma. Only minimal differences in overall incidence were noted among the distinct Jewish ethnic groups, again in contrast with previous reports dealing with adult population. However, children of North African parentage had a different age pattern and a higher rate of malignant lymphoma.