Tomorrow’s Lymphoma Treatment Today

Understanding Your Options for Treating Lymphoma

Lymphoma is not a single disease, but a term used to describe many different cancers that affect the lymphatic system, which helps protect the body against infection and disease. Lymphomas fall into two broad categories, which are known as Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Within these two groups there are many subtypes of lymphoma, such as mantle cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma .

Lymphomas begin in white blood cells called lymphocytes, which protect the body against infection from germs and destroy abnormal cells that can turn into cancer. Changes in the DNA of lymphocytes can cause them to become malignant, or cancerous, and form tumors. Lymphomas often begin in the lymph nodes, but may arise elsewhere in the lymphatic system, and can spread throughout the body.

Hodgkin Lymphoma Versus Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: How Are They Different?

These blood cancers share similarities, but differ in significant ways:

• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is more common than Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Different lymphocytes are involved in these lymphomas. The hallmark of Hodgkin lymphoma is the presence of abnormalities called Reed-Sternberg cells, which are not present in non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Hodgkin lymphoma often occurs in people under 40, while non-Hodgkin lymphoma is more common in people over 60.

Lymphoma Treatment Options

Treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma can take several forms, including:

• Chemotherapy: A general term for drugs that kill cancer cells and prevent them from spreading.
• Radiation therapy: The use of intense, focused beams of energy to kill cancer cells.
• Immunotherapy: A medical treatment that boosts the immune system’s ability to fight cancer.
• Targeted therapy: Medications that take aim at genetic mutations, proteins, and other factors specific to a given cancer.
• Bone marrow transplants: In this procedure, a patient receives an infusion of healthy blood-forming stem cells from a well-matched donor.
• Watchful waiting: Some lymphomas are very slow growing, so patients may only be monitored with various tests until the cancer begins to worsen, at which time treatment can be initiated.