What Is 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

If you've received a diagnosis of lymphoma, you should know that you are not alone. Lymphomas are the fifth most common type of cancer in the United States, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

The ACS also estimates that you have a 1 in 50 chance of getting non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma sometime in your life. The disease occurs overwhelmingly in adults, with the average age at diagnosis between 60 and 70. However, the disease can occur in any age group. Although children rarely get cancer, approximately 15 percent of childhood cancers are lymphomas.

As stated above non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are cancers of lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). Lymphocytes can be subdivided into B cells, which are primarily involved in the production of antibodies (disease fighters), and T cells, which carry out a complicated set of tasks, including modulating the immune system response.

To carry out their functions, lymphocytes are found throughout the body. They are primarily produced in the bone marrow (produces blood cells) and lymph nodes in adults, but also circulate in the blood and are found in other organs in the body. Thus, lymphomas can originate at any site in the body.

In the United States, almost 90 percent of lymphomas originate in B cells. The remainder of lymphomas originate in T cells or NK cells (a specialized subset of T cells). In other parts of the world, the proportion of lymphomas originating in T cells can be much higher.

The non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are a variety of different cancers—not just one disease. In the past 10 to 20 years, it has become apparent that accurate diagnosis of the specific type of lymphoma is necessary for the best care. Different lymphomas have different clinical patterns, and all do not respond optimally to the same treatments.

What Is Lymphoblastic Lymphoma?

Lymphoblastic lymphomas are tumors of immature lymphocytes that have not yet become mature T cells or B cells. Cancers of these cells frequently manifest as acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, these malignancies can present as lymphomas with enlarged lymph nodes as the major manifestation. A characteristic finding is a large mass in the mediastinum (space between the lungs) in a young man. These are rapidly growing malignancies, but very responsive to treatment.