More than 1 type of Lymphoma?

Question

What's the difference between Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma?

Okay Amanda S, Thanks for copying that really long internet site for me but it still didn't explain what the difference was between hodgkin's and non-hodgkin's lymphoma.
How can a doctor tell if you have one or the other? Does it have to do with the location of the tumors? Type of cells? Symptoms?

Answer 1

Simple answer: Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) is characterized by a particular type of cells found in the tumor known as a Reed-Sternberg cell, as some of the other answerers points out. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) refers to ALL the other ones that don't have this Reed-Sternberg cells. There are 5 subtypes of HL whereas there are more than 20-30 types of NHL.

There are actually more specific test that can be done to determine whether a lymphoma is HL or NHL, known as flow-cytometry, which looks for very small molecules on the surface of cells (known as immunophenotype) that characterizes each cell like a fingerprint does. HL has a different immunophenotype than NHL. Certain types of HL may be very close to NHL though, and sometimes determination may be confusing. That's why pathology specimens are often sent to major medical centers to help confirm the diagnosis.

Answer 2

Hodgkin (disease) lymphoma has been known as a disease that affects lymphatic tissue since Thomas Hodgkin described it in 1832. Hodgkin lymphoma has continued to receive special recognition by the World Health Organization, which influences disease classification throughout the world. The disease was called Hodgkin's disease for about 170 years and was officially changed to Hodgkin lymphoma when sufficient evidence accrued that the cancer originated in a lymphocyte.

Hodgkin lymphoma is distinguished from other types of lymphoma by the presence of one characteristic type of cell, known as the Reed-Sternberg cell (named for the scientists who discovered it). Although they are found within the lymph nodes, Reed-Sternberg cells may not be lymphocytes.

More Information here

http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=7085

Lymphomas, including Hodgkin lymphoma, result from an injury to the DNA of a lymphocyte. Scientists know that the damage to the DNA occurs after birth and, therefore, is acquired rather than inherited. The damaged DNA in one lymphocyte produces a malignant change that leads to the uncontrolled and excessive growth of malignant lymphocytes. The accumulation of these cells results in tumor masses in lymph nodes and other collections of lymphatic tissue in the body.

Lymphomas generally start in lymph nodes or collections of lymphatic tissue in organs like the stomach or intestines. Lymphomas may involve the marrow and the blood in some cases. Lymphocytic leukemias originate and are most prominent in the marrow and spill over into the blood. They occasionally spread and involve the lymph nodes.

More information on Non Hodgkins here
http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=7087



There is too much information at those 2 sites to give all the details here

Answer 3

There are actually many different types of lymphomas besides Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's - these are just two broad classes of lymphomas. The basic difference between the two classes is that they affect different types of cells, and also have different effects on the cells. Hodgkin's produces an oddball cell called a Reed-Sternberg cell which has two nuclei. Non-Hodgkin's does not produce cells with two nuclei, and it can affect several types of cells, and have all sorts of forms.

More info at the link:

Answer 4

The difference between Hodgkin's Lymphoma & Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is like night & day. How's that for simple? Pretty good, huh? Hodgkin's Lymphoma is a friend of mine. I've met him many times on the battlefield of therapudics. I like it because it is fairly easy to diagnose and fairly responsive to treatment. It is more common in men than women & has peaks of incidence in the twenty's & fourty's. It usually presents with a lump on the left side of the neck & a low grade fever. Biopsy the lymph node in the neck & you've got your diagnosis. Do an abdominal exploratory laparotomy for staging purposes & to remove the spleen, then start chemotherapy. We have our share of cures with this cancer - one because it's usually diagnosed early due to the enlarged node, (which is usually the presenting complaint), & two, because it responds better to therapy than Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma..........Now, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is a bear of another cave. I don't like this bear. He's viscious. He hides, giving no significant early detection signs, so it's usually diagnosed late; & on top of that, it's not very responsive to treatment. Diagnosis of any cancer, (with the possible exception of a small Basal Cell) is bad news, but Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma ranks up there with the worse. I've tried to keep this simple. I hope it's adequate to answer your question.

Answer 5

Lymphoma is a general term for a group of cancers that originate in the lymphatic system. The lymphomas are divided into two major categories: Hodgkin lymphoma and all other lymphomas, called non-Hodgkin lymphomas. The prefix "lymph-" indicates their origin in the malignant change of a lymphocyte and the suffix "-oma" is derived from the Greek suffix denoting "tumor." About 56 percent of the blood cancers that occur each year are lymphomas.

Hodgkin lymphoma was named for Thomas Hodgkin, an English physician who described several cases of the disease in 1832. Hodgkin lymphoma will represent about 11.7 percent of all lymphomas diagnosed in 2006.

About 66,674 Americans will be diagnosed with lymphoma in 2006. This figure includes approximately 7,800 new cases of Hodgkin lymphoma (4,190 males and 3,610 females), and 56,390 new cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (29,070 males and 27,320 females).

Lymphomas result when a lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) undergoes a malignant change and begins to multiply, eventually crowding out healthy cells and creating tumors that enlarge the lymph nodes or other parts of the immune system.

Lymphomas generally start in lymph nodes or collections of lymphatic tissue in organs like the stomach or intestines. They may involve the marrow and the blood in some cases. Lymphomas may spread from one site to other parts of the body. Lymphocytic leukemias originate and are most prominent in the marrow and spill over into the blood. They occasionally spread to involve the lymph nodes.

Lymphoma Causes and Risk Factors
The annual incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma has nearly doubled over the last 55 years. The reasons for this increase are not certain and there are probably multiple causes. The increase began before the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) within the population. Since the mid-1980s, the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in individuals infected with HIV has contributed modestly to the increase in lymphoma incidence. For those infected with HIV, the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma is about 50 to 100 times the incidence rate expected in uninfected individuals.

Known risk factors explain only a small proportion of lymphoma cases. In specific geographic regions infection with the Epstein-Barr virus is strongly associated with African Burkitt lymphoma in Africa. Epstein-Barr virus infection may play a role in the increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphomas in persons with immune suppression as a result of organ transplantation and its therapy. The bacterium Helicobacter pylori causes stomach ulcers and is associated with the development of mucosa-associated lymphatic tissue (MALT) lymphoma. HTLV is associated with a type of T-cell lymphoma in certain geographic regions in Southern Japan, the Caribbean, South America and Africa. About a dozen inherited syndromes can predispose individuals to later development of lymphoma. These inherited disorders are rare, but the concept of predisposition genes is under study to determine if they play a role in the sporadic occurrence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in otherwise healthy individuals.

There is an apparent increase in non-Hodgkin lymphoma incidence in farming communities. Studies point to specific ingredients -- such as organochlorine, organophosphate and phenoxyacid compounds -- in herbicides and pesticides as being associated with lymphoma. However, the number of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases caused by such exposures has not been defined.

Most cases of Hodgkin lymphoma occur in people who do not have any identifiable risk factors and most people with presumptive risk factors do not get the disease. The causes of Hodgkin Lymphoma are uncertain. To illustrate: Many studies of environmental, especially occupational, linkages have been conducted with unclear results. Epstein-Barr virus has been associated with nearly half of cases. However, this virus has not been conclusively established as a cause of Hodgkin lymphoma. People infected with HTLV and HIV also have an increased probability of developing Hodgkin lymphoma. There are occasional cases of familial clustering, as with many cancers. There is an increase incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma in siblings of patients with the disease.

Lymphoma Incidence
In the United States, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the sixth most common cancer among males and the fifth most common cancer among females. The age-adjusted incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma rose by 76 percent from 1975-1979 to 2002-2003, an annual percentage increase of 2.6 percent.

Age-specific incidence rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma are 2.9/100,000 at ages 20-24 for males and 1.9/100,000 for females. By ages 60-64, they are 51.2/100,000 for males and 38.4/100,000 for females.

The incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma among people under 20 years of age was 1.1 per 100,000 people in 2002.