What is Lymphoma?
Lymphoma is a name for a group of cancers of the lymphatic system, part of the body's
immune defense system. It can occur when an error takes place in the way a lymphocyte
is produced. The resulting abnormal cells accumulate either by duplicating faster
or living longer than normal cells, and they displace normal lymphocytes.
Like normal lymphocytes, cancerous lymphocytes can grow in many parts of the body,
including the lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow or blood. Because there is lymph tissue
throughout the body, the cancer cells may spread to other organs. More about the anatomy of the lymphatic system
Types of Lymphoma
There are a number of different forms of lymphoma, whose symptoms, rate of spread,
pattern of spread and treatment vary.
The two main types of cancer of the lymphatic system are:
Over the years, different classification systems have been used to differentiate lymphomas
and several groups around the world are continuing to work on the best way to classify
the various subtypes. Depending on the classification system being used, there are
between 4 to 6 classes of HD and anywhere from 15 to over 30 classes of NHL.
The simplest way to think of Lymphoma is to look at:
- Whether it arises from a B- or T-cell lymphocyte (90% of lymphomas are of B-cell origin)
- Whether it is a slow progressing lymphoma (indolent) or a fast progressing lymphoma
(aggressive)
All Hodgkin’s Disease lymphomas are B-Cell lymphomas, so they can be further classified
by “classic” or "lymphocyte predominant” HD.
* All Hodgkin's Disease lymphomas are B-Cell malignancies
** There are over 30 different NHL subtypes, classified by a combination of the two
categories described
Incidence of Lymphoma
Lymphoma accounts for about 3 percent of all cases of cancer in the United States.
Unfortunately, while the incidence rate of many other cancers is decreasing, the incidence
rate for lymphoma is rising.
Each year, 60,900 persons in the United States learn they have lymphoma. This figure
includes approximately 7,000 new cases of Hodgkin’s Disease (HD) and 53,900 new cases
of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL).
Facts About Lymphoma
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a much larger percentage of all lymphoma cases than Hodgkin’s
Disease
- The pattern by age group varies for Hodgkin’s Disease vs. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- The incidence of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma increases dramatically with age
- Hodgkin’s Disease peaks among young adults (people in their mid-20s), falls to less
than half that rate in middle age and increases infrequency in older adults
Treatment for Lymphoma
If you've been diagnosed with lymphoma, know that at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center,
you are in good hands. Our lymphoma programprovides a wide variety of treatment approaches for patients with lymphoma and other
lymphatic diseases.