Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system - the body's blood-filtering tissues that help to fight infection and disease. Like other cancers, lymphomas, occur when cells divide too much and too fast. Growth control is lost, and the lymphatic cells may overcrowd, invade, and destroy lymphoid tissues and metastasize (spread) to other organs.
     There are two general types of lymphomas: "Hodgkin's Disease" (named after Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, who first recognized it in 1832) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The lymphatic tissue in Hodgkin's disease contains specific cells - Reed-Sternberg cells - that are not found in any other cancerous lymphomas or cancers. These cells distinguish Hodgkin's disease (HD) from non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs).
     Non-Hodgkin's tumors occur more frequently than Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Diet and Lymphoma
Eating plenty of leafy greens, spinach, kale, broccoli and Brussels sprouts and other vegetables may help reduce the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

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Lymphoma Symptom
Symptoms of Lymphoma can vary widely depending on the type of lymphoma, and where the lymphoma is growing. A lymphoma symptom related to bone marrow dysfunction, such as anemia (low red blood cell count), may cause fatigue. Lymphoma in the gastrointestinal system may present as an upset stomach; or a change in bowel movement. Appetite loss could be a lymphoma symptom. Unfortunately, some of the symptoms of lymphoma are not common to this condition and make it difficult to initially diagnose. For instance, someone could have aches, fever, and chills and think they have the flu, but this could be a lymphoma symptom. The location of pain depends where the nodes are growing. Those who have a low white blood cell count could come down with an infection.

Non Hodgkin's lymphoma cause
Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are cancers of lymphoid tissue (lymph nodes, spleen, and other organs of the immune system). For most patients, the cause is unknown, but lymphomas may develop in people with suppressed immune systems as a result of organ transplantation, for instance, lymphomas can be slow-growing (low-grade) or rapidly growing (high-grade) cancer. The tumors are graded according to their level of malignancy (aggressiveness)-- low-grade, intermediate-grade or high-grade.
     People with immune deficiencies, such as HIV / AIDS, are at heightened risk of developing the cancer. But whether other forms of "immune dysregulation" are related to non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk is unknown
     Infection with hepatitis C virus nearly doubles the risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer involving the lymph nodes. Specific viruses do contribute to certain non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes seen largely in Africa and Japan.
     Some people misspell the term as 'non hodgkin lymphoma' or Nonhodgkins lymphoma.
     Heavy smoking doubles the risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive individuals who are heavy smokers have an approximately 4-fold elevated risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma. About 5 percent to 10 percent of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases could be prevented by persuading people to quit smoking and by integrated policies and health programs aimed at reducing HCV infection.
     The risk of lymphoma is higher in people with inflammatory polyarthritis relative to that seen in the general population. Inflammatory polyarthritis is a form of rheumatoid arthritis involving two or more joints. The incidence is higher in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and those who take disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. The highest risk is seen in patients treated with methotrexate.

Sun exposure - good for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or harmful?
There has been conflicting reports regarding the benefit of sun exposure and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It is not clear which of the following is more accurate.

Ultraviolet radiation exposure from time spent in the sun appears to boost the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It's been suggested that increasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation may be responsible, at least in part, for the observed increase in the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Recreational sun exposure could help reduce the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) possibly due to formation of vitamin D.

Non Hodgkins lymphoma symptom
Symptoms of non Hodkin's lymphoma include enlarged lymph nodes (such as an armpit lump), isolated or widespread, fever, excessive sweating, and night sweats. Another symptom of non Hodgin's lymphoma is unintentional weight loss.

Epstein-Barr virus as potential cause of lymphoma
Patients who have abnormal reactive blood patterns when exposed to Epstein-Barr virus appear to have an increased risk of lymphoma. Dr. Silvia de Sanjose of the Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona and colleagues found that although Epstein-Barr virus is often thought to be benign, infection with this virus may lead to processes that can disturb the regulation of the immune system and increase the risk of cell transformation to malignancies.

Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma is a malignancy (cancer) of lymph tissue found in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and bone marrow. Symptoms of Hodkin's lymphoma include painless swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin (swollen glands), fatigue, fever and chills, night sweats, weight loss, and generalized itching.
     People who undergo chest radiation therapy early in life to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma appear to be at increased risk of cardiovascular abnormalities.
     Hodgkin lymphoma is more likely to be diagnosed during certain months-- suggesting that, in some groups, the cancer follows a seasonal pattern. Researchers found that, in Sweden during the second half of the 20th century, men under 50 were more likely to be diagnosed with the cancer in February, while women under 50 were diagnosed less often in August and December, and boys less than 15 years old were more often diagnosed in March. These findings support the theory that the cancer is caused by a virus or bacteria, or other infectious agent.

Leukemia and Lymphoma - Survival after Hodgkin's Disease Treatment.
Hodgkin's disease survivors face a more than six-fold increased risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is highest in the 10 years after Hodgkin's diagnosis. Hodgkin's disease is a cancer of the body's lymphatic system that typically affects people between 15 and 40 years of age and those over 55 years of age. Due to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of this cancer, survival rates are high. Acute myeloid leukemia, by contrast, is a cancer of white blood cells that usually affects people in their mid-60s and carries a worse prognosis than Hodgkin's disease.

Psychological aspects of lymphoma treatment survival
Almost half of survivors of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma report some degree of emotional distress in the years after diagnosis. While most lymphoma survivors don't experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), many patients appear to be psychologically affected by the cancer and the treatment. Journal of Clinical Oncology, February 20, 2008.

B cell lymphoma
Ninety percent of lymphomas are B-cell. Thus, T-cell lymphoma is rare. All lymphomas arise from normal lymphocytes in the body. There are two types of lymphocytes: B-cell: derived from bone marrow cells and T-cell: derived from thymus, a special gland in the central part of the chest. B-cell lymphocytes make antibodies. T-cell lymphocytes regulate the B-cell lymphocytes.

T cell lymphoma -- Cutaneous T cell lymphoma
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a term coined in 1979 to describe a group of lymphoproliferative disorders characterized by localization of neoplastic T lymphocytes to the skin at presentation. The skin is the second most common extranodal site for lymphoma; gastrointestinal sites are first. Of all primary cutaneous lymphomas, 65% are of the T-cell type.

Follicular lymphoma
Follicular non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) is a very common type of b-cell lymphoma, comprising approximately 30% of all cases. There are about 61,000 new cases of NHL diagnosed annually. Therefore, there are approximately 18,300 new cases of follicular NHL diagnosed annually. Follicular lymphomas account for 70% of indolent (slow growing) lymphomas.

Lymphoma and Overeating
People who overeat or who aren't physically active face a higher risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), according to a report by Canadian researchers in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Lymphoma and Antibiotic Use
Using antibiotics more than 10 times during adulthood is associated with an increased likelihood of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that affects the body's lymphatic system. It is possible, however, that heavy antibiotic use is a marker of increased susceptibility to infection, and it is probably this rather than antibiotics themselves that gives rise to the increased lymphoma risk.

Burkitt's lymphoma
Burkitt's tumor is an example of a high-grade lymphoma. Burkitt's lymphoma is a solid tumor of B lymphocytes, the lymphocytes that the immune system uses to make antibodies. Burkitt lymphoma.

Viruses and Lymphoma
The Epstein-Barr virus is associated with Burkitt's lymphoma, lymphomas in immunosuppressed people, and Hodgkin lymphoma. The discovery of human herpes virus type 8 has led to the identification of a rare and unusual group of virus-associated lymphoproliferative diseases. Individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus are at greatly increased risk of developing lymphoma but here the mechanism of lymphoma genesis is indirect. Recent data suggest that hepatitis C virus infection is also associated with an increased incidence of lymphoma.

Lymphoma and Drug Chemotherapy
For non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, treatment with one drug -- ( fludarabine, marketed as Fludara ) -- is likely to be more effective than treatment with three drugs -- cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisone, or CVP. In a study of 380 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, overall response rates were significantly improved with Fludara than CVP. This was evaluated by Dr. Anton Hagenbeek, from Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Holland.

Quality of life after lymphoma treatment
People who survive lymphoma may continue to have both physical and practical problems for years afterward,. In a survey of Dutch adults who'd been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma 5 to 15 years earlier, researchers found that they reported poorer-than-average physical health and energy. Many also said they'd had problems returning to work or obtaining health insurance, life insurance and home mortgages.

Lymphoma Research Update
Australian researchers found that people who were either elder siblings or only children had relatively lower risks of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A similar protective effect was seen among people with a history of hay fever or food allergies. The researchers speculate that early immune system development may be behind all of these associations. In brief, early infection -- more likely with multiple kids in a family -- may set the immune system in such a way that allergies don't develop; but on the other hand this setting may increase the chances of developing lymphoma. The study, of nearly 1,400 adults with and without non-Hodgkin lymphoma, found that those who were a first-born or only child were half as likely to develop the cancer as people who were fourth in their line of siblings. In all, the researchers report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, there was a linear increase in NHL risk, such that second-born children had a lower risk than those who were third-born, who were, in turn, less likely than later-born siblings to develop the disease. Similarly, men and women who had had hay fever at any age were one-third less likely than those without such nasal allergies to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, while people with a history of food allergies were 70 percent less likely than the food-allergy-free to be diagnosed with the disease. A number of studies have found evidence that limited exposure to infection early in life may make a child more likely to develop allergies. The theory is that this lack of germ exposure delays the normal "switch" that the immune system goes through after birth to become an infection-fighting machine. If the immune system is not given an early push in an infection-fighting direction, it may tend to remain hypersensitive to substances that most people tolerate -- which is what gives rise to allergies. Being an only child, or having otherwise limited exposure to other young children, is one factor that can keep a person sheltered from germs early in life. So it's possible that elder siblings and only children, as well as people with a history of certain allergies, are partially protected from non-Hodgkin lymphoma by virtue of their immune responses. The type of immune response associated with allergies is known as a Th2-dominant response, as opposed to the Th1-dominant response that targets foreign invaders like viruses. If the Th2-dominant response is indeed what lowers non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk. SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, April 20, 2005. Lymphoma symptom.

Lymphoma Questions
Q. Does using hair dye increase lymphoma risk?
     A. Using hair dye may slightly increase the risk of lymphoma, particularly among women who started using hair coloring products before 1980.

Q. My girlfriend got lymphoma that started extranodal and which is in the bone and bone marrow, sshe had 1 chemo. treatment, but seems that regimen is not working cuz after 1 month already her cells are not moving up the level they should be. So you have any natural therapy that can be helpful in her case, which is lymphoma starting in bone?
   A. We haven't come across human research on herbs that have been tested in the treatment of lymphoma.

Q. I am trying to search the internet to find out if the malaria my husband picked up while in Japan could be related to his non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I read on the web site the paragraph titled 'Non Hodgkin's lymphoma cause' that certain viruses contribute to certain lymphoma subtypes in Africa and Japan. do you have any further info about the viruses in Japan that would cause the lymphoma and if it were possible to tell whether or not my husbands was that type, or if there was no way to tell for sure.
   A. Infection with a parasite from the genus Plasmodium causes malaria. Malaria is not caused by a virus.

Q. We recently returned from Rome where we had a consultation with a doctor for my wife who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma 12 years ago. The Italian doctor is a pathologist, oncologist and surgeon who was trained in traditional medicine in Italy. The reason for our consultation was to explore some ongoing preventions for my wife's lymphoma. She had CVP treatmetn (6 cycles). She has been very healthy since treatment and a very careful diet eliminating sugar, white flour, and most meats. After 12 years, her disease in showing some low level activity, although her very good health continues. The doctor has recommended that she add inositol, lactoferrin, and beta-carotene to the vitamins / suppliments that she already takes.


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