Everything You Need to Know About Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

NHL is a malignant tumour that originates from the lymphatic system.

Let's give a brief introduction about the lymphatic system:

It consists of lymphoid organs (as bone marrow, thymus, lymph node) and lymph vessels. When a malignant tumour arises from the lymphatic system, it is called Lymphoma.

What are the causes of NHL?

The definite cause is unknown but it has been linked to some viruses and toxins as benzene and pesticides.

Now let's talk about a general simplified view of the mechanism of this cancer.

This cancer causes production of lots of abnormal lymphocytes. A normal lymphocyte has a life span but the abnormal one doesn't. These lymphocytes continue to grow and divide until they cause crowding of the lymph nodes. As a result, lymph nodes get enlarged.

Symptoms include:

- Painless enlarged nodes (usually cervical or supraclavicular nodes).

- Systemic symptoms as fever, night sweats and weight loss.

- Abdominal pain or swelling.

What are the risk factors?

Individuals who are old aged or taking immunosuppressive drugs or using insecticides are at a higher risk of developing Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is classified according to "The Working Formulation" into:

- Low grade lymphoma

- Intermediate grade lymphoma

- High grade lymphoma

The treatment depends on the histological findings. In general, it may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, total neck irradiation. Besides there is stem cell transplant. There are certain medications that can augment the body's ability to eliminate cancer cells.

Thank you for reading this article. We hope you benefited from it. Please spread the symptoms because it's incidence is increasing worldwide.

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