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Summary
Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymph system. There are many types of lymphoma. One type is Hodgkin disease. The rest are called non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
Non-Hodgkin lymphomas begin when a type of white blood cell, called a T cell or B cell, becomes abnormal. The cell divides again and again, making more and more abnormal cells. These abnormal cells can spread to almost any other part of the body. Most of the time, doctors don't know why a person gets non-Hodgkin lymphoma. You are at increased risk if you have a weakened immune system or have certain types of infections.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can cause many symptoms, such as
- Swollen, painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fever
- Soaking night sweats
- Coughing, trouble breathing or chest pain
- Weakness and tiredness that don't go away
- Pain, swelling or a feeling of fullness in the abdomen
Your doctor will diagnose lymphoma with a physical exam, blood tests, a chest x-ray, and a biopsy. Treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, biological therapy, or therapy to remove proteins from the blood. Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells. Biologic therapy boosts your body's own ability to fight cancer. If you don't have symptoms, you may not need treatment right away. This is called watchful waiting.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Diagnosis and Tests
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Beta 2 Microglobulin (B2M) Tumor Marker Test
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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Blood Count Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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Bone Marrow Test
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- How Is Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Diagnosed? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- How Is Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia Diagnosed? (American Cancer Society)
- Lab and Imaging Tests (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)
- Needle Biopsy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
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Stages of Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
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Stages of AIDS-Related Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
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Stages of Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
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Stages of Mycosis Fungoides and the Sezary Syndrome
(National Cancer Institute)
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Staging Primary CNS Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
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Tumor Marker Tests
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Can Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Be Prevented? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- What Are the Risk Factors for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- What Are the Risk Factors for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia? (American Cancer Society)
Treatments and Therapies
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Blood-Forming Stem Cell Transplants
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Bone Marrow Transplantation: MedlinePlus Health Topic
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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Drugs Approved for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
- Immunotherapy (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) Also in Spanish
- Integrative Medicine and Complementary and Alternative Therapies (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) Also in Spanish
- Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
-
Treatment Option Overview (Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma)
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Treatment Option Overview (AIDS Related-Lymphoma)
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
-
Treatment Option Overview (Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma)
(National Cancer Institute)
-
Treatment Option Overview (Mycosis Fungoides and the Sezary Syndrome)
(National Cancer Institute)
-
Treatment Option Overview (Primary CNS Lymphoma)
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Treatment Options by Stage (Mycosis Fungoides and the Sezary Syndrome)
(National Cancer Institute)
-
Treatment Options for AIDS-Related Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
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Treatment Options for Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
-
Treatment Options for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
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Treatment Options for Primary CNS Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
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Treatment Options for Recurrent Mycosis Fungoides and the Sezary Syndrome
(National Cancer Institute)
Living With
- Getting the Facts: Cancer-Related Fatigue (Lymphoma Research Foundation)
- What Happens After Treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- What Happens After Treatment of Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia? (American Cancer Society)
Related Issues
- What's the Difference between Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Specifics
- Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (Lymphoma Research Foundation)
- Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (Lymphoma Research Foundation)
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (CLL/SLL) (Lymphoma Research Foundation)
-
General Information about AIDS-Related Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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General Information about Mycosis Fungoides and the Sezary Syndrome
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
-
General Information about Primary CNS Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Mantle Cell Lymphoma (Lymphoma Research Foundation)
- Marginal Zone Lymphoma (Lymphoma Research Foundation)
- T-Cell Lymphoma (Lymphoma Research Foundation)
- What Is Waldenstrom Macroglobulinema? (American Cancer Society)
Genetics
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8p11 myeloproliferative syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics
(National Library of Medicine)
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Mycosis fungoides: MedlinePlus Genetics
(National Library of Medicine)
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Sézary syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics
(National Library of Medicine)
Statistics and Research
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Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute)
- What Are the Key Statistics about Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- What's New in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Research and Treatment? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Lymphoma
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin
(National Institutes of Health)
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
(National Institutes of Health)
- Types of Treatment: Clinical Trials (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Rehabilitation in patients with lymphoma: An overview of Systematic Reviews.
- Article: A comparative study of multimodal magnetic resonance in the differential diagnosis...
- Article: Assessment of naive indolent lymphoma using whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging and T2-weighted...
- Lymphoma -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- American Cancer Society
- Find a Cancer Doctor (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
- Lymphoma Research Foundation
-
National Cancer Institute
Also in Spanish
-
NCI Designated Cancer Centers
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Children
- Do We Know What Causes Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Children? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
-
General Information about Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Immunotherapy (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
Patient Handouts
- After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- B-cell leukemia/lymphoma panel (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Bone marrow transplant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Burkitt lymphoma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Lymph node biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma - children (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish