Non Hodgkin's lymphoma : A cancer of immune system

Non Hodgkin's lymphoma is basically a cancer of the immune system as it occurs in lymphatic system which is mainly for immune purpose. Though the lymphatic system consists of lymph nodes, lymph fluid and lymphatic vessels but the most common origin of Non Hodgkin's lymphoma is lymph nodes. Hodgkin's and Non hodgkin's lymphoma ae two types of malignant cancer of the lymph nodes while Hodgkin's is more common in adults and Non Hodgkin's lymphoma is more common in children.

What is Non Hodgkin's lymphoma

Non Hodgkin's lymphoma is a malignant cancer or lymphocytes. The origin is mainly from B cell lymphocytes in 90% of cases and only in 10% it is of T cell origin. The incidence of Non Hodgkin,s lymphoma is almost 5 times more than Hogkin's lymphoma and is more often seen in children and the survival rate is good if detected early and treated early.

There are many types of Non Hodgkin's lymphoma but the most common present in children is Burkitt's lymphoma also called Devita's cancer which have a viral etiology and lymphoblastic lymphoma also called Robbin's cancer.

In adults most common type of Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma seen is Follicular type of lymphoma.

Causes of Non Hodgkin's lymphoma

The causes of Non Hodgkin's lymphoma is unknown but a viral etiology is seen in some of its types. The most common type of Non Hodgkin,s lymphoma is children called Burkitt's lymphoma or Devita's cancer is caused by a virus called Epstein Barr virus which is also known to cause infectious mononucleosis or glandular fever. High grade B cell lymphoma is also caused by Epstein Barr virus while Adult T cell lymphoma which is common Non Hodgkin's lymphoma in adults is caused by Human T lymphocyte virus 1 (HLTV 1). HLTV 1 is a retrovirus while HLTV 3 is also a retrovirus which is more commonly known as HIV virus and causes AIDS.

In Non Hodgkin's lymphoma there is production of abnormal lymphocytes and in many cases bone marrow involvement takes place which may be a poor prognostic feature.

Risk factors for Non Hodgkin's lymphoma

There are certain risk factors especially in children, most of the risk factors are related to immunosuppression or decreased immunity. There are certain genetic diseases related to immune system like
Wiskott - Aldrich syndrome,
Ataxia telangectasia,
X linked agammaglobinemia,
Chediak Higashi syndrome
X linked lymphoproliferative syndrome

Children suffering from above mentioned diseases are more prone to develop this lymph node cancer. Viral infection is another risk factor as mentioned in the causes that it can develop Burkitt's lymphoma.

Any child or even adult on immunosuppressive therapy are more prone to develop Non Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Another important risk factors include chronic persistant exposure to antigen stimulation such as malaria or intestinal parasitic infestation. So deworming is most important in children at frequent intervals.

There are various types of Non Hodgkin's lymphoma and the presentation, prognosis and diagnosis may differ in each. To know the various types please refer to Types of Non Hodgkin's lymphoma.