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Lymphoma Cancer Treatment

Lymphoma cancer is classified as either Hodgkin's lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In both cases, the cancer begins in the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. Lymph cells throughout the body carry fluid and fats, and help the body to fight infection.

Lymphoma cancer can originate anyplace in the body where there are lymph nodes. This is true of both Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The major difference is that patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma have a cancer cell named the Reed-Steinberg cell. The two different types of cancer are also treated differently.

  1. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

    • Although surgery may be used in diagnosing lymphoma, it is not effective at treating the cancer. External beam radiation is the most common method of treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This procedure uses a machine to emit high-energy light that kills the cancer cells. Radiation is usually a fairly effective treatment for early stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (Stage I or Stage II).

      More advanced lymphoma cancer is usually treated with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. A combination of four chemotherapy drugs (Cytoxan, Adriamycin, Oncovin and Prednisone) is usually used.

    Hodgkin's Lymphoma

    • Hodgkin's lymphoma is also treated with radiation and chemotherapy, either alone or together. Stem cell transplants are also a popular and effective treatment in some cases. In many patients, very high doses of chemotherapy are combined with stem cell transplants.

      Stem cell transplants usually tend to be most effective and least dangerous with matched allogeneic donors. This means that someone who has the same tissue type (such as a sibling) donates stem cells. Patients over 50 are usually unable to withstand this surgery, and a matched donor must be available.

      An autologous stem cell transplant may also be used for patients who do not respond to radiation and chemotherapy. This involves removing your own bone marrow cells, giving you high doses of chemotherapy, and then reinserting your own cells. This can be difficult because it may be hard to find cells that don't have cancer present.

    Treatment of Special Lymphomas

    • Certain special types of lymphoma cancers require unique treatment. For example, Diffuse B-cell lymphoma is a rare type of lymphoma. It is usually treated with the same four chemotherapy drugs as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but a fifth drug called rituximab is added. Patients may need to undergo up to six months of chemotherapy to attempt to cure this type of lymphoma.
      Another type of lymphoma, called follicular lymphoma, is often not treated at all. Because it is a slow growing cancer that is difficult to cure, doctors will often postpone treatment until the cancer begins to cause symptoms. When symptoms are present, chemotherapy and/or radiation is used. Once treatment has begun, the chemotherapy can take up to three years to remove the cancer cells from the body.

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