Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer. It is cancer of the lymph system and white blood cells known as lymphocytes, which fight infection and disease. There are two major types: Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and dozens of subtypes that range from indolent or slow growing to aggressive subtypes.
With a better understanding of cancer at the molecular level, more forms have been identified. The Fourth Edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues describes sixty-one subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and six forms of Hodgkin lymphoma. Microarray technology has given scientists the ability to detect and quantify small molecules, such as proteins and antibodies, as well as DNA variations and expression levels. With the ability to identify these unique disease characteristics, scientists can develop sophisticated diagnostic tools and provide insight into the mechanisms behind the clinical course observed by physicians. In this respect, science has come a long way since lymphoma was first described in 1832 by pathologist Thomas Hodgkin. While many forms of cancer have been declining, the rate of incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma has nearly doubled since the 1970s.
Some lymphomas are aggressive—such as diffuse large b-cell, which is the most prevalent type of lymphoma. Others—such as follicular lymphoma—are slow growing or indolent. Sometimes indolent lymphomas can “transform” and become aggressive.
The treatments, prognoses, and survival rates can vary significantly depending upon the type and stage. Accordingly, it is not enough to know someone has lymphoma or even non-Hodgkin lymphoma—you need to know the subtype.
There are over 723,000 lymphoma survivors in the United States (nearly 535,000 of which are non-Hodgkin), over 79,000 new cases (9,060 Hodgkin and 70,130 non-Hodgkin), and more than 20,000 deaths from lymphoma (1190 Hodgkin and 18,940 non-Hodgkin) annually.
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