Types Of Lymphoma
Even though lymphoma is responsible for a good chunk of all cancer-related deaths, it is not a very publicized one like breast or brain cancer. Because of this, the people are not as aware of it like they should be. To start off, there are two main types of lymphoma, Hodgkin’s or Non-Hodgkin’s, and over 20 subtypes under them. What binds all these strains of cancer together is that they all deal with lymphocytes mutated by cancerous cells.
The Different Types Of Lymphoma
Generally, types of lymphoma are decided by their cells and the speed in which it multiplies its cancerous self. Hodgkin’s Disease and all its subtypes come from what they call malignant B-cells; also, it is characterized by the atypically orderly manner in which it spreads the disease from one lymph node to the next. Since Hodgkin’s disease was the first one discovered, all new types of lymphoma discovered after it that did not share the same cell-origin and approach are collectively called Non-Hodgkin’s, Those classified as such come from either of the malignant B or T-cells and have a more conventional method of reckless invasion and attack everything within reach.
Despite these two deciding traits, both types of lymphoma are relatively similar in terms of symptoms and treatment. General symptoms would go as follows: swollen lymph nodes, weight loss of about 10%, chronic fatigue, lack of appetite, persistent fevers and night sweats. The slight difference in symptoms comes in here where Hodgkin’s lists extreme itchiness while Non-Hodgkin’s leans more towards skin lesions. Treatment for lymphoma is mainly chemotherapy, special cases notwithstanding, with a positive response when cancer is caught early enough to still be able improve.
So far, the majority of lymphomas are under the Non-Hodgkin’s subtype. This subtype also garners nearly eight times the number of cases that are reported for Hodgkin’s.
Under the Non-Hodgkin’s types of lymphoma are a few stand-outs that became familiar enough to the public that they are referred to by their specific names and not just Non-Hodgkin’s. Unfortunately, this is mostly because they are some of the most common types of lymph node cancer contracted.
Lymphoblastic lymphoma took the lion’s share of cases involving children. It is a violently aggressive strain that used to inevitably lead to death though improved treatments have started to garner better statistics. Burkitt’s lymphoma is contracted only by those with a specific genetic anomaly mostly found within the African demographic. It rapidly progresses and can lead to death quickly if not treated. Diffuse Histiocytic, CutaneousT-cell and lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma all proved particularly unresponsive to treatment. These types of lymphoma are among the few that do not yet have the most efficient treatments or cures. More advancements in technology and medicine will hopefully rectify that soon.