Hodgkin lymphoma starts when infection-fighting white blood cells develop changes (mutations) in their DNA. These changes affect how the cell functions, causing it to grow and multiply uncontrollably.
Usually, doctors can only diagnose Hodgkin lymphoma by taking a sample of the suspected tissue and examining it under a microscope. This process is called biopsy.
Hodgkin Lymphoma is cancer that starts in lymphocytes, which are white blood cells that help your body fight infection and disease. In Hodgkin lymphoma, certain DNA changes cause lymphocytes to grow and multiply uncontrollably. These abnormal cells collect in your lymph nodes and interfere with your body’s ability to fight infection. There are many types of Hodgkin lymphoma, and the type you have determines your treatment options and outlook.
Generally, Hodgkin lymphoma starts in the B lymphocytes that live in your lymph nodes, which are found throughout your body. However, the cancer can also start in other types of lymphocytes, such as T lymphocytes.
Once the cancer grows, it spreads through the lymph vessels that connect your lymph nodes. The cancer can also spread to other organs, such as your bone marrow or liver. Depending on how far the cancer spreads when diagnosed, your doctor will assign you a stage that describes how serious the disease is and helps guide your treatment options.
A small procedure called a biopsy will be done to get a sample of the swollen lymph node or tissue. This is usually done under local anaesthetic and the sample will be examined under a microscope by an expert lymphoma pathologist to confirm your diagnosis. The biopsy will also tell your doctor what type of Hodgkin lymphoma you have.
In classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), you have a mixture of large cells that look like Reed-Sternberg cells and normal cells. This is the most common type of HL and has the best prognosis. Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) is a rare subtype of cHL and has more nodular appearance with a mixture of classic RS cells and other types of lymphocytes.
Other types of HL include relapsed follicular Hodgkin lymphoma (RFL), diffuse large B cell lymphoma, and other B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. You are more likely to develop these types of HL if you have HIV infection or have received an organ transplant, and they may be more aggressive than other types of HL.
Other types of lymphoma are not treated the same as Hodgkin Lymphoma, so it is important that you attend all your medical appointments and follow your doctor’s instructions carefully. Some of the treatments for these other types include radiation, chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, and surgery.
Hodgkin Lymphoma is one of the most curable types of cancer if it is caught in its early stages. You should talk to your doctor if you have painless swelling in the neck, armpits, groin or abdomen (adenopathy). You also should get regular checkups and tests so that doctors can check for this disease or any long-term effects of treatment.
Doctors usually diagnose Hodgkin lymphoma by doing a physical and getting a history of your symptoms. They will then do blood and imaging tests. A chest X-ray and CT scan of the chest, belly and pelvis can show enlarged lymph nodes. A PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan can show if the lymphoma has spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver or bones.
A biopsy can confirm Hodgkin lymphoma. During this test, a sample of lymph tissue is removed and looked at under a microscope. This can find out if you have Hodgkin lymphoma and how far the cancer has spread.
The main treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma is chemotherapy and radiation. Often, steroid medications are added to help control side effects during the treatment. This is especially important if you have other conditions that can cause side effects, such as a weakened immune system or pregnancy.
There are 2 main forms of Hodgkin lymphoma based on whether or not you have HRS cells. The more HRS cells you have, the worse your outlook is. The other main form of Hodgkin lymphoma, nodular lymphocyte-predominant HL or NLPHL, does not have any HRS cells and may not cause B symptoms.
If you have a biopsy that shows Hodgkin lymphoma, treatment can help you live longer and improve your quality of life. Newer treatments have improved the chance of a cure and are more effective than older treatment methods.
After you’ve had treatment, you need regular visits to your doctor for years to look for signs of the cancer coming back or for any long-term effects of the treatment. These appointments are called posttreatment surveillance. Keeping up with these visits can keep the lymphoma from coming back.
Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and do a physical exam. This may include checking your neck, underarm and groin lymph nodes as well as the size of your spleen and liver. Your doctor will also order blood tests. These include a complete blood count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate test, which measure certain types of white blood cells. These tests can help your doctor see if your lymph nodes are enlarged and whether they’re growing more quickly than normal.
If your doctor suspects Hodgkin lymphoma, he or she may order a biopsy of a affected node. During a biopsy, your doctor will remove some of the tissue from the lymph node and send it to a lab for laboratory testing. The lab will examine the tissue to look for signs of cancer and identify the type of Hodgkin lymphoma you have. Generally, doctors prefer to use surgical biopsies in which they remove all or most of the involved lymph node to ensure that enough tissue is available to make a diagnosis. This helps prevent misdiagnosis and improves your chances of getting the right treatment for your condition.
In some cases, your doctor will need to perform a bone marrow biopsy to see if the lymphoma has spread from your bones into the rest of your body. The marrow is the spongy tissue inside your bones where blood cells are made. The marrow test is often done when patients have advanced lymphoma or other conditions that increase their risk of complications from chemotherapy.
Other blood tests and imaging tests can help your doctor see how far the lymphoma has spread. These tests may include a computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). MRI and PET scans provide detailed pictures of your body without using x-rays. Your doctor may also want to test the thymus, the gland in your chest that makes B lymphocytes. Or your doctor may test Peyer’s patches, small masses of lymphatic tissue in the lining of your intestines. These patches are important in helping to destroy bacteria that can cause infections.
Hodgkin Lymphoma affects the lymphatic system, which is a network of organs and nodes throughout your body that get rid of waste and fight infections. It usually starts in infection-fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes.
These cells are found mainly in bean-sized lymph nodes that help filter and clean your blood, as well as other lymphoid tissues like the spleen and thymus. They’re also present in the tonsils, two masses of lymph tissue at the back of your throat. Hodgkin lymphoma usually forms in these cells, but can start in other cells as well.
To diagnose HL, your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and do a physical exam. Your doctor will look for swollen lymph nodes, especially in your neck, underarm, and groin. They’ll also check your spleen and liver. They may order blood tests, such as a complete blood count and an erythrocyte sedimentation rate, to see how your body is responding to treatment. Your doctor might also order a bone marrow biopsy, which involves removing and examining marrow inside your bones. This test can help determine if the cancer has spread, what type of Hodgkin lymphoma you have, and how it’s developing.
The main treatments for HL are combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These treatments work together to destroy the cancer and reduce your risk of it coming back. They can also prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of your body.
Your doctor might add other drugs to your treatment regimen to prevent the cancer from returning or to treat any long-term side effects of your treatment. These drugs include antibodies, such as rituximab or brentuximab vedotin, and other targeted therapy medicines that attack cancer cells without damaging healthy cells as much.
If you have a higher risk of recurrence or your HL has returned after previous treatment, your doctor might recommend a bone marrow transplant. This treatment puts healthy marrow stem cells into your body to replace the damaged ones. It’s often recommended when other treatments don’t work or if you’re older and can’t tolerate more intensive therapies.
Hodgkin Lymphoma is one of the most treatable forms of cancer. Many people with the disease live 10 years or longer without it coming back.
Hodgkin lymphoma develops in the lymphatic system, a network of vessels and glands spread throughout your body. The clear fluid they contain, called lymph, carries infection-fighting white blood cells.
The lymphatic system is a network of vessels, valves, ducts and nodes that balances the body’s fluids by draining excess fluid — called lymph — from tissues and returning it to the bloodstream after filtering out waste products. It also makes certain types of white blood cells, including lymphocytes, to fight infections and other foreign organisms. Swollen lymph nodes are usually a sign of the immune system’s response to fighting infection or another illness. A person who has swollen lymph nodes should see a doctor right away.
Most people with swollen lymph nodes have an infection, and the swelling will disappear once the infection clears up. However, swollen lymph nodes are often the first sign of Hodgkin Lymphoma, and they should never be ignored.
Hodgkin lymphoma starts in the lymphatic system and then spreads to other parts of the body, where it affects various organs, most notably the thymus gland, bone marrow and blood vessels. It is most common in people between the ages of 16 and 34.
If a person with swollen lymph nodes sees a doctor, the physician will take a detailed medical history and do a physical exam. The doctor will check for fever and look at the swollen areas to find out what is causing them to be so big.
Swollen lymph nodes can be as small as peas and as large as cherries. They are located throughout the body, but most often are found in the neck, armpits, chest, abdomen and groin. Lymph nodes that are swollen and easy to feel are called enlarged lymph nodes or swollen glands.
A swollen lymph node is caused when it fills with immature white blood cells and other debris that are fighting off infection, usually a virus or bacterial infection. These cells build up and push the lymph node swell outward.
If the doctor suspects that the swollen lymph node is related to Hodgkin Lymphoma, he or she may order an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the area. During an MRI, high-energy sound waves bounce off the body’s internal tissues and organs to create a picture of the tissue called a sonogram. In addition, the doctor may do a lymph node biopsy. During this procedure, the doctor numbs the area and uses thin, needle-like tools to remove a sample of cells from the lymph node to test for Reed-Sternberg cells.
Hodgkin lymphoma happens when infection-fighting white blood cells develop changes in their DNA. These changes may affect the way the cell functions and make it grow into cancerous Reed-Sternberg cells. These cells may then spread to other tissues and cause a fever. Often, this type of fever is caused by the body’s reaction to these cancerous cells. This is why you should always see your doctor if you have unexplained fever that lasts for several days or more.
Sometimes, the cancer cells in a lymph node spread to other parts of the body to form larger tumors. These tumors can affect the chest, abdomen and other organs. They can also cause symptoms such as a cough, trouble breathing and itching.
In most cases, doctors use a biopsy to find out if you have lymphoma. For a biopsy, your healthcare provider will numb a part of your body with medicine (anesthesia). Then they will put a needle into a lymph node to remove a small piece for testing. Sometimes providers may need to take a biopsy from another area of your body, such as the bone marrow or chest.
The most common early symptom of Hodgkin Lymphoma is swelling in one or more lymph nodes. There are more than 500 lymph nodes throughout the body, located in clusters along a network of lymph vessels. Lymph nodes are bean-shaped structures that help fight infections by filtering lymph fluid and storing infection-fighting white blood cells. Sometimes lymph nodes swell as a result of an infection, but they usually return to normal over time. But if the lymph nodes are enlarged for months or years, it could be a sign of Hodgkin lymphoma.
If your lymph nodes swell up, they can block the airways in your chest and lead to shortness of breath or problems swallowing. You might also feel tired all the time or have a poor appetite because of your fatigue. Fatigue is a common symptom of lymphoma, and it’s especially noticeable if you have other lymphoma symptoms, such as fever and night sweats.
Night sweats can be a sign of any type of lymphoma, but they are more common in Hodgkin lymphoma and high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma. They may occur as a result of the release of chemicals from the lymphoma cells that raises your body’s temperature, or it may be a side effect of some chemotherapy drugs.
There are many things that can cause increased sweating at night, including certain types of cancer. But there is a special link between drenching night sweats and lymphoma, both Hodgkin Lymphoma and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
A person with lymphoma may wake up drenched in sweat, sometimes so intense that they have to change their pajamas and sheets several times in the course of one night. This heavy sweating is caused by the body’s reaction to chemicals released by the lymphoma cells. This type of sweating is often accompanied by chills and a low-grade fever.
The human body has more than 500 lymph nodes spread throughout the body, mainly in clusters in the neck, armpits, groin, scrotum, chest and abdomen. Lymph nodes help to drain fluids from the body and filter impurities from the bloodstream and lymphatic system. Sometimes these lymph nodes enlarge without any apparent infection or illness, which can be a sign of Hodgkin Lymphoma. It’s important to have these painless, swollen lymph nodes checked by a doctor because if they are not treated promptly, they may become infected and lead to more serious complications.
Some people with Hodgkin Lymphoma also experience drenching night sweats, as well as other systemic symptoms (symptoms that affect the entire body), such as fatigue, unexplained weight loss and itchy skin. These are called B symptoms and healthcare providers consider them as they plan treatment plans and develop prognoses for patients.
In the majority of cases where B symptoms occur, they are a warning sign that the person may have Hodgkin Lymphoma. The reason is that the lymphoma cells are causing instability in the thermoregulatory hypothalamic centers of the brain, which controls the way the body responds to temperature changes. In this case, the lymphoma cells are triggering the onset of sweating and chills by releasing chemicals that increase body temperature.
In a study of six patients who had only night sweats as their sole symptom, doctors found that the sweating was preceded by a slight unperceived increase in hand temperature. This rise is similar to the low-grade fever that occurs in some people with drenching night sweats.
Hodgkin lymphoma develops in part of the body’s lymphatic system, a network of blood vessels and glands spread throughout the body. Clear fluid called lymph flows through the lymphatic system, carrying infection-fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes. When Hodgkin lymphoma develops, cancerous cells spread from the lymph nodes to other parts of the body. They may also form large, abnormal cells that are called Reed-Sternberg cells (lim-FOE-măl). The first sign of Hodgkin Lymphoma is often a painless swollen lymph node in the neck, armpit or groin. Lymph nodes are easily felt by your doctor, who will usually examine other parts of the body for swollen lymph nodes as well.
If the lymph nodes in the chest swell, they can press against tissues inside your body, including your airways and lungs. This can cause symptoms such as coughing, trouble breathing or a feeling of pressure in the chest. Chest pain is very common in people with Hodgkin lymphoma and some types of high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Other signs of Hodgkin Lymphoma include fever, tiredness and loss of appetite. Some people have heavy night sweats, where they wake up soaked in sweat. These sweats may be cold or hot, and they might occur during the day as well.
Some types of Hodgkin Lymphoma can spread to the liver or spleen, but this is less common than it is with other lymphomas. It is also rare for Hodgkin lymphoma to form in the sternum, which is the bone in the center of your chest. If a swollen lymph node appears in the sternum, doctors will usually perform an imaging test to see whether it is Hodgkin lymphoma or another disease.
The most important step in diagnosing Hodgkin lymphoma is getting a biopsy of the suspicious tissue. Doctors can do this by numbing a part of the body with local anesthesia, using a hollow needle to remove a tiny bit of tissue for testing, or performing an incisional biopsy. They can also use a CT scan or other tests to check for the presence of lymphoma. This will allow them to find the best treatment for you.
Hodgkin Lymphoma affects your lymphatic and immune systems. It commonly appears as swollen lymph nodes in your neck, chest or abdomen.
Most people are cured with treatment that eliminates all signs and symptoms. Your health care team will discuss your treatment options with you and ask how you feel about each option. This is called shared decision-making.
Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells. It can be used on its own or with radiation therapy and other treatments. It can also be used to help the body accept other therapies, such as bone marrow transplant and immunotherapy.
A combination of drugs called the ABVD regimen is the standard of care for Hodgkin lymphoma in adults. This treatment includes doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine. The drugs are delivered through a vein (IV) as a drip, and they are typically given in the outpatient setting. Depending on the type and stage of Hodgkin lymphoma, other chemotherapy combinations may be recommended.
After the first treatment cycle, doctors will look for any signs that the cancer has returned or spread. If the disease is found to have recurred, high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) is often the next step. The stem cells can come from the patient or from a donor. MD Anderson has one of the largest bone marrow and stem cell transplant programs in the country.
Steroids can help prevent recurrence of Hodgkin lymphoma and reduce the risk of side effects from chemotherapy. They are given by mouth or IV and may be combined with other cancer treatments, including immunotherapy.
In some cases, a patient’s doctor will recommend immunotherapy to treat Hodgkin Lymphoma that has recurred. These agents, such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab, work by keeping cancer cells from attaching to a protein on the surface of immune system cells known as PD-1. When the PD-1 protein is blocked, it allows the immune system to destroy the cancer cells.
It is important for people who have had Hodgkin lymphoma to attend regular follow-up appointments so that any late effects can be detected and treated as soon as possible. It can be helpful to bring a family member or friend with you to appointments to take notes and ask questions. You can also find a list of suggested questions to bring with you to an appointment on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society website. Regular follow-up visits will start out being every few weeks or months and will gradually become less frequent over time.
For adults, treatment is more successful if the cancer is found early and if it has not spread to other parts of the body. A process that uses tests and procedures to find out if the lymphoma has spread is called staging. This helps doctors plan the best treatment for you.
When the cancer is found, the doctor can use radiation to destroy any remaining cancer cells. Radiation may be given in combination with chemotherapy or on its own. The type of radiation used depends on the stage of your Hodgkin lymphoma and your overall health. It also depends on whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding, since high-dose radiation can cause problems with a developing fetus.
If you have early Hodgkin lymphoma (Ann Arbor stage I or II), you can often be cured with brief multiagent chemotherapy, which is usually ABVD plus involved site radiation. We can also treat recurrent Hodgkin lymphoma with newer drugs, including the antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin and the checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab and pembrolizumab. These new treatments allow us to increase the chance of cure while keeping toxicity to acceptable levels.
Depending on your risk, you may be treated with a less intensive combination of chemotherapy and radiation or with a stem cell transplant. The type of transplant is either autologous (stem cells taken from your own body) or allogeneic (stem cells taken from a donor). Our bone marrow and stem cell transplant program has been a leader in lowering the doses of chemotherapy needed to safely perform these procedures, making them more effective.
Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most curable types of cancer. But it is important to follow up with your doctor regularly, so he or she can check for any signs that the lymphoma is returning or for long-term treatment side effects. You should also continue to have regular exams for years after you finish treatment. These visits will help your doctor detect and treat any recurrences as soon as they occur. If the cancer returns, your doctor may be able to give you other treatments that are still experimental but show promise for treating Hodgkin Lymphoma.
If Hodgkin Lymphoma recurs after chemotherapy or it has spread to other parts of the body, doctors can use a bone marrow transplant to kill any cancer cells left over and improve survival. During this procedure, healthy stem cells replace the damaged bone marrow that makes blood cells. Doctors can use stem cells taken from another person or from your own (autologous transplant). In some cases, they can grow new bone marrow in the laboratory. This process is called hematopoietic stem cell transplant or HDCT.
Before the transplant, you will receive medicine that stimulates the production of blood-forming stem cells. These are the cells that make red and white blood cells, platelets and other types of blood cells. You may also receive other medicines to prevent infection and to help you stay strong enough for the transplant.
After a few days, the medical team will remove blood-forming stem cells from your veins using a procedure called apheresis. For this, you will get a drug, such as filgrastim (fl-REE-grast-im), that makes your body produce and release a lot of stem cells for the procedure. Then the team will remove blood from a large vein in your chest or neck and run it through a machine that separates out the blood-forming stem cells. Then the team will put back the stem cells into your bloodstream through a tube in your chest or neck (central line), where they will be infused into your blood and travel to the bone marrow, where they will start to grow new blood-forming cells.
You will have to remain in the hospital for several weeks until your blood counts start to rise and you are well enough to go home. Your immune system will still be weak, so you need to take steps to protect yourself from germs. You should avoid smoking, wear a mask if you are going outside, and get recommended cancer screenings. You will also need to have regular exams by health care providers who know about long-term treatment effects from this type of transplant.
Your doctor can tell you more about the benefits and risks of a bone marrow transplant. This is a very complex treatment, and you and your doctor need to discuss your options and weigh the pros and cons.
Immunotherapy uses drugs that stimulate your immune system to kill cancer cells or slow the growth of new cancer cells. The drugs can be used alone or with other chemotherapy treatments, such as radiation. Different types of immunotherapy have different side effects. You should talk with your doctor about the type of immunotherapy that is right for you.
Whether you have Hodgkin lymphoma or another cancer, you will need to follow up with your provider for years after treatment. This is important for detecting and treating any late effects of your treatment. It’s also important to check for signs of recurrence.
If regular chemotherapy doesn’t work or your Hodgkin lymphoma recurs after treatment, you may need a higher dose of chemotherapy. This intensive chemotherapy can damage your bone marrow and reduce the number of blood cells you have to help carry oxygen through your body. To compensate for the loss of blood cells, you will need a bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant.
A bone marrow or stem cell transplant replaces your blood-forming cells with healthy ones. It can be done to treat leukemia, lymphoma or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a group of conditions that affects the blood-forming cells and bones. A stem cell transplant can also be used to treat some solid tumors, including mesothelioma and other cancers of the lung, breast, thyroid, esophagus, colon, cervix or bones.
In addition to the specialized blood-forming cells, a stem cell transplant can use a type of blood cell called stromal cells to help rebuild your bone marrow after the intense chemotherapy that you receive. You might also need other medicines to help keep your blood cells from becoming too low or to help your bone marrow produce healthy blood cells after you get the transplant.
Your provider might suggest a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat your lymphoma. These combination therapies can result in a complete response in many people with advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma. Immunotherapy can be combined with other therapies, such as radiation therapy and antibody-drug conjugates like brentuximab vedotin, or it can be given after chemotherapy.
People with Hodgkin lymphoma often have swollen lymph nodes. Symptoms may also include fatigue and night sweats. Having certain viruses like HIV and Epstein-Barr virus can increase the risk of Hodgkin lymphoma.
The type of Hodgkin lymphoma you have helps determine your treatment options. The most common type is classic Hodgkin lymphoma. Other types include nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma and mixed cellularity Hodgkin lymphoma.
Around 2,000 people in the UK develop classical Hodgkin lymphoma each year. It can affect people of any age, but most develop it between the ages of 15 and 34 and over 60. It can happen to males and females, and it can affect people from all ethnic backgrounds.
The lymph system is a network of tubes (a bit like blood vessels) that collect immune cells and carry them round the body. It also helps control the flow of fluids in and out of the body. There are two types of immune cells in the lymph system: B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes. B lymphocytes make antibodies to help fight infection. T lymphocytes destroy germs and abnormal cells and boost or slow the activity of other immune cells.
Classical Hodgkin lymphoma starts in the lymph tissues, usually in one or more lymph nodes. The cancer can spread to other parts of the body, including the bone marrow, liver and lung. It can also develop in the spleen, an organ that makes lymphocytes, stores red blood cells and filters out old blood cells.
When doctors diagnose classical Hodgkin lymphoma, they will look for cancer cells in a sample of the tissue from the affected nodes. They will also check for the symptoms and do other tests to find out how far the lymphoma has spread. This will help them decide on the best treatment for you.
Lymphoma is grouped into categories called stages and grades. The lower the stage, the more likely it is that the treatment will be successful and you will be cured.
Your lymphoma specialist will be able to tell you the stage of your lymphoma and what type it is. They will also use your medical history and other factors to judge how likely it is that the lymphoma will respond to certain treatments.
Your doctor may offer you the chance to take part in a clinical trial of new treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma. These are designed to give you the most effective treatment with fewer side effects and late effects than standard treatments. You can search for trials that might be suitable for you at Lymphoma TrialsLink.
When people have been diagnosed with cancer, doctors often use statistics to help them estimate how likely they are to survive and how well they are expected to do after treatment. However, every person is different and there are many factors that can influence a person’s risk of Hodgkin Lymphoma and their chance of recovery. For this reason, it is important that people talk to their doctor about the general survival statistics and what they might mean for them.
Classical Hodgkin lymphoma is the most common form of this disease and accounts for around 80% of all cases. It is characterised by a type of cell called Reed-Sternberg (RS) cell that has two mirror image nuclei (also known as owl eyes). The RS cells are surrounded by a background of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that helps fight infection and disease.
This type of Hodgkin lymphoma usually occurs in groups of lymph nodes in the neck, chest (mediastinum), underarms, groin and belly (abdomen). It can also develop in single nodules. Occasionally, the lymph nodes in the spleen or liver are affected. This form of the disease can also be found in children and teenagers.
Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL) accounts for around 5% of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma. It is less common in women than men and tends to be more aggressive than classical HL. In NLPHL, the neoplastic cells look a little more like popcorn cells than RS cells and are surrounded by a background of lymphocytes. This type of lymphoma is more likely to affect only one group of lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis (localised disease) than classical HL.
Mixed cellularity Hodgkin lymphoma (MCHL) is the second most common sub-type of this disease and is seen in 4 out of 10 cases of Hodgkin Lymphoma. It is more common in people with HIV infection, although it can occur at any age and may be found in all types of lymph nodes. It can sometimes spread to the spleen, liver and bone marrow.
Symptoms of Hodgkin lymphoma are generally not very obvious, but may include pain in the lymph nodes, fever and drenching night sweats. If you are concerned about any of the symptoms, speak to your GP who will be able to refer you for further tests.
The lymph system (also called the lymphatic system) is part of the immune system and helps fight infections and some other diseases. The lymph system has special cells called B lymphocytes (B cells) and T lymphocytes (T cells). B cells make proteins that help fight germs. T cells destroy germs or abnormal cells in the body and help boost other immune system cells. In Hodgkin lymphoma, the cells of the lymph system begin to grow and multiply quickly. The result is a tumor, or cancer, that may spread to other tissues in the body.
Classical Hodgkin lymphoma is most common in people in 2 age groups: teens and young adults, and older adults. It is rare in children and babies. It usually starts in the lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, or groin. It can also start in the spleen or thymus. It may also spread to the lungs. Nodular lymphocyte-predominant classical Hodgkin lymphoma and mixed cellularity classical Hodgkin lymphoma are less common types of cHL. These are treated the same way as classical cHL.
Different types of cHL are grouped into subtypes according to their morphology and their association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This is how scientists know whether a case of cHL is nodular sclerosis, lymphocyte depleted, mixed cellularity, or nodular lymphocyte-predominant. These subtypes are associated with different outcomes.
MCcHL is characterized by diagnostic RS cells in a mixed inflammatory background without sclerosis, and a variety of other cell types that may include lacunar cells, multinucleated giant cells, or pseudosarcomatous cells. It has a better prognosis than NScHL or LRCHL, but it is not as good as nodular sclerosis cHL.
The diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma depends on a number of factors, including where the disease is and its symptoms. It is important for the doctor to find out if the tumor has spread within the lymph nodes or to other parts of the body, which is called staging. This information can help determine the best treatment for the patient.
Cancer that has spread to other parts of the body is more serious than cancer that remains in the lymph nodes. Cancer that has spread to the lungs is more serious than cancer that has spread to other organs, such as the stomach or bones. Regular follow-up by doctors who specialize in finding late effects is important for the long-term health of patients treated for Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is one of two main types of blood cancer. It starts in the lymphatic system, which is made of multiple organs including the lymph nodes, lymph channels, thymus, bone marrow, and spleen. Its purpose is to remove waste and bacteria from the body, drain excess fluid from tissue, and transport immune cells throughout the body.
HL starts in the B lymphocytes, which are part of the white blood cells that help fight infection and disease. There are four subtypes of HL: classical Hodgkin lymphoma, nodular Lymphocyte-Rich Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL), mixed cellity Hodgkin lymphoma, and lymphocyte-depleted classical Hodgkin lymphoma.
Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL) is the most common type of HL. It is found in people of all ages and usually starts in the neck or chest. In cHL, the lymph nodes that are enlarged have a small number of abnormal B cells, called Reed-Sternberg cells, with many normal lymphocytes surrounding them. These other lymphocytes are what cause the swelling of the lymph nodes.
There are three symptoms of HL that doctors check for: unexplained fever, night sweats, and unexplained weight loss. Symptoms may also include lumps in the neck or armpits, and swollen lymph nodes in the chest, belly, or groin. The lumps in cHL tend to be larger and more firm than the bumps in other types of lymphoma.
NLPHL is a subtype of cHL that has a different pathology and clinical features than cHL. The most important difference is that NLPHL does not have as many Reed-Sternberg cells as cHL. NLPHL is characterized by large cells that look like popcorn and are called lymphocyte predominant (LP) cells. It is also distinguished by a nodular growth pattern and fine interstitial fibrosis, as well as a cellularity dominated by B lymphocytes rather than by T cells.
Unlike cHL, NLPHL has not been shown to spread to the liver, bone marrow, or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It is also more likely to be advanced at diagnosis than cHL. However, it is still a serious lymphoma that can be treated effectively with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.