Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, an important part of the immune system involved in fighting infections. The lymphatic system is made up of various tissues and organs (for example, the lymph nodes and bone marrow), which all contain infection-fighting white blood cells known as lymphocytes. When immature lymphocytes begin to grow out of control and stop fighting infections, this can become lymphoma. Lymphoma is subdivided into Hodgkin lymphoma (or Hodgkin disease) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hodgkin lymphoma is unique in that only a minority of the cells in the tumor are malignant (cancerous), and it is considered to be one of the most curable forms of cancer. Both Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are more commonly diagnosed in older children and teenagers compared to younger children.

The most commonly diagnosed types of pediatric lymphoma are listed below.

Hodgkin lymphoma:

• Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (including nodular-sclerosing and mixed cellularity subtypes)
• Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma 

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma:

• Mature B cell lymphoma (including Burkitt’s and diffuse large B cell)
• Lymphoblastic lymphoma (T cell or B cell)
• Anaplastic lymphoma