In some malignant disorders, it was reported that urinary albumin excretion (UAE) was correlated with the prognosis and the extent of the disease. In this study, 24-h UAE was determined in 34 Hodgkin's disease patients without prior treatment and 19 healthy controls. Microalbuminuria (MAU) was defined as UAE > or = 20 microg/min. In patients with MAU, UAE was determined again after the treatment. Mean UAE was 31.2 microg/min in the patient group and 5.6 microg/min in the controls (p = 0.005). Whereas MAU frequency was 47% in the patients, there was no MAU in the controls. Mean UAE tended to be higher in advanced stage patients compared to early stage patients (p = 0.051). Also, MAU frequency tended to be higher in the advanced stage group compared to the early stage group (p = 0.196). In four patients in whom remission could not have been achieved, although UAE was reduced, MAU did not disappear. In conclusion, UAE was increased in Hodgkin's disease. However, there is no significant correlation between UAE and the disease extent.