n.
Any of various malignant lymphomas characterized by the absence of Reed-Sternberg cells and producing symptoms similar to those of Hodgkin's disease.
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Dictionary:
non-Hodg·kin's lymphoma (nŏn'hŏj'kĭnz)  |
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Definition
One of two general types of lymphomas (cancers that begin in lymphatic tissues and can invade other organs) differing from Hodgkin's disease (HD) by a lack of Hodgkin's-specific Reed-Sternberg cells.
Description
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a cancer of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that moves around the body as part of its role in the immune system. NHL is much less predictable than HD and is more likely to spread to areas beyond the lymph nodes.
NHL is comprised of approximately 10 subtypes and 20 different disease entities. Division is based on whether the lymphoma is low grade (progressing slowly) or high grade (progressing rapidly). NHL is also grouped according to cell type—B cells or T cells. Physicians can diagnose the type of lymphoma by performing a biopsy, in which a lymph node is removed and examined in the laboratory. Some of the Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma types include: Burkitt's lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular center lymphoma, and mantle cell lymphoma.
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n
A form of lymphoma associated with AIDS. One of the indicator diseases of AIDS. See also lymphoma.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: non-Hodgkin's lymphoma |
lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's, any cancer of the lymphoid tissue (see lymphatic system) in which the Reed-Sternberg cells characteristic of Hodgkin's disease (the other category of lymphoma) are not present. There are about 10 different types of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, some slower- or faster-growing than others. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma can affect children as well as adults. In most cases the cause is unknown, but an increased incidence has been observed in people who have been exposed to Agent Orange, and some forms of the disease are frequently seen in people with AIDS, many of these in association with latent Epstein-Barr virus infection.
Symptoms
The first symptom of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is often a painless swelling of a lymph node in the neck, the groin, or under the arm. Other symptoms include fever, night sweats, itching, and unexplained weight loss. Diagnosis is made by laboratory study of tissue obtained by taking a biopsy of the suspicious lymph node or nodes.
Treatment
Treatment depends on how far the disease has progressed. It may include external-beam radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or biological therapy (boosting the body's immune response to the disease). Rituxan, a genetically engineered drug involving monoclonal antibodies, has been approved for use against some low-grade (slow-growing) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Bone marrow transplantation is also sometimes used. In this technique, bone marrow (blood cell-producing tissue inside bone) is taken from the patient and treated to kill any cancer cells. The patient is then given very high dose chemotherapy designed to destroy the cancer; it also destroys the remaining bone marrow. After chemotherapy, the stored marrow is reinserted into the patient. In children, chemotherapy is the most common treatment.
Bibliography
See publications of the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.
| Wikipedia: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma |
| Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | C82.-C85. |
| ICD-9 | 200, 202 |
| ICD-O: | 9591/3 |
| OMIM | 605027 |
| DiseasesDB | 9065 |
| MedlinePlus | 000581 |
| eMedicine | med/1363 ped/1343 |
| MeSH | D008228 |
The Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are a diverse group of hematologic cancers which encompass any lymphoma other than Hodgkin's Lymphoma.[1]
Lymphoma is a type of cancer derived from lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. Many subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma have been described. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are treated by combinations of chemotherapy, monoclonal antibodies, immunotherapy, radiation, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma are classified according to the 1982 Working Formulation, now considered obsolete. Current classifications do not separate Hodgkin from Non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
Contents |
Epidemiology
no data less than 1.8 1.8-3.6 3.6-5.4 5.4-7.2 7.2-9 9-10.8 10.8-12.6 12.6-14.4 14.4-16.2 16.2-18 18-19.8 more than 19.8
History
Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL, Hodgkin's disease), described by Thomas Hodgkin in 1832, was the first form of lymphoma described and defined. Other forms were later described and there was a need to classify them. Because Hodgkin's lymphoma was much more radiation-sensitive than other forms, its diagnosis was important for oncologists and their patients. Thus, research originally focused on it. The first classification of Hodgkin's Lymphoma was proposed by Robert J. Lukes in 1963.
While consensus was rapidly reached on the classification of Hodgkin's lymphoma, there remained a large group of very different diseases requiring further classification. The Rappaport classification, proposed by Henry Rappaport in 1956 and 1966, became the first widely accepted classification of lymphomas other than Hodgkin's. Following its publication in 1982, the Working Formulation became the standard classification for this group of diseases. It introduced the term non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) and defined three grades of lymphoma.
However, NHL consists of 16 different conditions that have little in common with each other. They are grouped by their aggressiveness. Less aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas are compatible with a long survival while more aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas can be rapidly fatal without treatment. Without further narrowing, the label is of limited usefulness for patients or doctors.
The most recent lymphoma classifications, the 1994 Revised European-American Lymphoma (REAL) classification and the 2001 WHO classification, abandoned the HL vs. NHL grouping. Instead, 43 different forms of lymphoma are listed and discussed separately. Although Hodgkin's lymphoma is recognised as being a tumour of lymphocytes of mature B cell lineage, it is still considered separately within the WHO classification.[3]
Modern usage of term
Nevertheless, the Working formulation and the NHL category continue to be used by many. To this day, lymphoma statistics are compiled as Hodgkin's vs Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by major cancer agencies, including the National Cancer Institute in its SEER program, the Canadian Cancer Society and the IARC.
See also
- Lymphoma, for information about all forms of NHL as well as Hodgkin's lymphoma
External links
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at American Cancer Society
- Video and information booklets on non-Hodgkins lymphoma
References
- ^ non-Hodgkin lymphomas at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- ^ "WHO Disease and injury country estimates". World Health Organization. 2009. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/estimates_country/en/index.html. Retrieved Nov. 11, 2009.
- ^ ed. by Elaine S. Jaffe .... (2001). Pathology and Genetics of Haemo (World Health Organization Classification of Tumours S.). Oxford Univ Pr. ISBN 92-832-2411-6.
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