Introduction
Lymph gland cancer describes a degeneration of cells in lymph nodes and lymphatic tissues, such as the lymphatic tissue in the intestine, spleen or brain. There are two types of lymph gland cancer: Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, although the latter are much more common (about 85% of lymph gland cancers). They all manifest themselves by a painless swelling of the lymph nodes and usually also by the so-called B-symptoms, consisting of reduced performance, night sweat and unwanted weight loss. Diganosis is secured by a tissue sample and with a combination of chemo- and radiotherapy the chances of recovery are quite good.
Synonyms
Lymph node cancer, (malignant) lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas
Definition
Lymph gland cancer is a not so rare type of cancer that results from the malignant degeneration of cells in the lymphatic system and belongs to the group of lymphomas. The lymphatic system includes the lymph nodes, which are scattered throughout the body and connected to each other via lymph vessels, the pharyngeal tonsils (tonsils), the bone marrow, the thymus, the spleen, as well as lymphatic tissues in the intestine (MALT), lungs (BALT) and brain. Depending on the type of cell from which the malignant neoplasms originate, there are roughly two groups of lymph gland cancer: In Hodgkin’s disease, there is a further subdivision into four subtypes, which differ in their histological (i.e. fine tissue) appearance and prognosis: The most frequent (about 60% of cases) is the nodular sclerosing type. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas represent a large group with more than twenty different lymph gland cancers, which differ mainly in the cells of origin of the cancer.
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma (also called Hodgkin’s disease), named after its discoverer, in which so-called Hodgkin’s cells and Sternberg-Reed cells can be identified under the microscope
- The very heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, which includes Burkitt’s lymphoma and Waldenstrom’s disease.
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