Lymphoma causes and
diagnosis
Causes
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
§ Age - most
non-Hodgkin lymphomas are in people 60 years of age and over
§ Sex -
there are different rates of different types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma across
the sexes
§ Ethnicity and
location - in the US, African-Americans and Asian-Americans are less prone
than white Americans, and the disease is more common in developed nations of
the world
§ Chemicals and
radiation - some chemicals used in agriculture have been linked, as has
nuclear radiation exposure
§ Immune
deficiency - for example, caused by HIV infection or in organ transplantation
§ Autoimmune
disease, in which the immune system attacks the body's own cells
§ Infection -
certain viral and bacterial infections increase the risk. The Helicobacter
Infection has been implicated, as has the Epstein Barr Virus (the virus that
causes glandular fever)13
Hodgkin's lymphoma
§ Infectious
mononucleosis - infection with Epstein-Barr virus
§ Age - two
specific groups are most affected: typically people in their 20s, and people
over the age of 55 years
§ Sex -
slightly more common in men
§ Location -
most common in the US, Canada and northern Europe; least common in Asia
§ Family -
if a sibling has the condition, the risk is slightly higher, and very high if
there is an identical twin
§ Affluence -
people from higher socioeconomic status are at greater risk
§ HIV infection
Diagnosis
-
Blood tests
The
doctor may take some blood from the arm using a needle and syringe. This will
be sent to a pathology laboratory to be examined. These tests will also tell
the doctors how well the other organs such as liver and kidneys are working.
-
Bone marrow biopsy
Lymphoma
cells can spread to bone marrow. In a bone marrow biopsy, a sample from the
bone marrow is taken with a needle. The bone marrow is usually taken from the
back of the hipbone.
The
patient will have a local anaesthetic and possibly some sedative so he does
not feel pain during the biopsy. The sample will be looked at under a
microscope to see if the lymphoma has spread to the bone marrow.
-
Computerised tomography (CT) scan
A CT
scan is a special type of x-ray that gives a three-dimensional (3-D) picture of
the organs and other structures in the body. It usually takes about 30 to 40
minutes to complete this painless test.
-
Gallium scan
In this
test the whole body is checked. The patient will have an injection of
radioactive gallium, a sort of metal. After a few days, when it has had time to
circulate around the body, the patient will return to the hospital to have
pictures of the body taken with a special camera (a gamma camera).