What Causes Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma?

This content has been reviewed and approved by

James O. Armitage, MD
The Joe Shapiro Professor of Internal Medicine
Section of Oncology/Hematology
University of Nebraska Medical Center
 

The exact cause of most non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is not known. There are almost certainly factors in our environment that cause the disease, but we rarely know what those factors are. It is known that exposure to certain chemicals used in farming can increase the risk of lymphoma. Patients with severe immune deficiencies are more likely to develop lymphoma as are patients with diseases of the immune system, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

In recent years, it has become apparent that a number of microorganisms are associated with the development of lymphoma. The bacterial Helicobacter pylori, which is a cause of stomach ulcers, also is associated with developing lymphomas in the stomach. The human T-cell lymphoma virus-I (HTLV-1) causes a specific type of lymphoma that is particularly frequent in southern Japan and the Caribbean, but rare in most of the United States.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) predisposes patients to developing lymphoma. However, this is often associated with infection by a second virus called the Epstein-Barr virus, which is the virus that causes mononucleosis. The Epstein-Barr virus also seems to cause lymphomas in patients who have undergone organ transplantation and are severely immunosuppressed (less able to fight disease). It is likely that more associations between specific microorganisms and lymphoma will be discovered in the future.

Since a great majority of patients have lymphomas of unknown cause, it is impossible to know how they might have changed their behavior to prevent the disease. We do know that lymphomas are not contagious and most do not appear to be hereditary.

This content was last modified on August 15, 2007 .
Latest Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma News
Thyroid cancer a risk after childhood cancer

October 27, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Childhood cancer survivors are 18 times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than the general population, UK researchers report.

Few cancer breakthroughs at major meeting

June 2, 2009 — ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - This year's meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, a traditional showcase for advances in cancer treatment, has been disappointingly thin on major breakthroughs.

Wine may improve lymphoma survival

April 22, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking wine, but not beer or liquor, may improve survival in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a type of blood cancer involving the lymph nodes, according to research reported at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Denver this week.

Select news items provided by Reuters Health