Reading Time:
Pathology
Abnormal proliferation of B- or T-lymphocytes
Multiple histological subtypes with very variable clinical courses
B- or T- cell lymphomas
High-grade (aggressive but potentially curable) or low grade (more indolent but incurable with chemotherapy) lymphomas
Aetiology
Increasing incidence worldwide, geographic variation in prevalence of subtypes around the world
Signs
Lymphadenopathy, Hepatomegaly, Splenomegaly
Symptoms
an be asymptomatic, early stage disease, ‘B’ symptoms, anaemia, haemorrhage, infections.
Investigations
Bloods: FBC – normochromic normocytic anaemia, thrombocytosis,
lymphocytopenia, Raised ESR and ALP
Imaging: CT Chest, abdomen and Pelvis for staging using Ann Arbor System
Bone Marrow Aspirate Used for staging using Ann Arbor System
Treatment
Conservative: Watch and wait’ if early stage low grade disease
Medical: Antibiotics, chemotherapy, Monoclonal antibodies (recognise
lymphoma surface structures e.g. CD20 on B lymphocytes, and destroy those cells only), Radiotherapy, Autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplants for relapsed disease
Prognosis
Overall survival rates for Stage 1 is ~80%
Dependent on treatment choice, can be life-threatening e.g. sepsis, organ failure
Key Facts
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, sapien platea morbi dolor lacus nunc, nunc ullamcorper. Felis aliquet egestas vitae, nibh ante quis quis dolor sed mauris.
Key Images
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, sapien platea morbi dolor lacus nunc, nunc ullamcorper. Felis aliquet egestas vitae, nibh ante quis quis dolor sed mauris.
Key References
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, sapien platea morbi dolor lacus nunc, nunc ullamcorper. Felis aliquet egestas vitae, nibh ante quis quis dolor sed mauris.