Lymphoma has become one of the top ten malignant tumors in China, and research on lymphoma has also begun to receive attention. So what exactly is lymphoma? What are the symptoms of lymphoma? Today, Baike will learn about lymphoma with everyone.
What is lymphoma
Lymphoma is a malignant tumor originating from the lymphatic hematopoietic system, mainly characterized by painless lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and involvement of various tissues and organs throughout the body, accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever, night sweats, weight loss, and itching.
Classification of Lymphoma
According to tumor cells, it is divided into two types: non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The pathological features of Hodgkin lymphoma include lymphocytes, eosinophils, plasma cells, and specific Reed Steinberg cells in the tumor tissue. HL is classified into nodular lymphocyte rich type and classical type according to pathological type, the latter including lymphocyte dominant type, nodular sclerosis type, mixed cell type, and lymphocyte depletion type. The incidence rate of NHL is far higher than that of HL. It is the sum of a group of independent diseases with strong heterogeneity. Pathologically, it is mainly lymphocytes, histiocytes or reticular cells with different degrees of differentiation. According to the natural course of NHL, it can be classified into three major clinical types, namely, highly aggressive, aggressive and inert lymphoma. According to the different origins of lymphocytes, they can be divided into B-cell, T-cell, and NK cell lymphomas.
Symptoms of lymphoma
1. Systemic symptoms
Malignant lymphoma may present with systemic symptoms such as fever, itching, night sweats, and weight loss before or at the same time as lymph node enlargement.
2. Immune and hematological manifestations
When diagnosing malignant lymphoma, 10% to 20% of patients may have anemia. Some patients may have increased white blood cell count, platelet count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Some patients may have leukemia like reactions and significantly increased neutrophils. The elevation of lactate dehydrogenase is related to tumor burden. Some patients, especially those in advanced stages, exhibit immune dysfunction. In B-cell NHL, varying amounts of monoclonal immunoglobulin can be detected in the serum of some patients.
3. Skin lesions
Malignant lymphoma patients may have a series of non-specific skin manifestations, with polymorphic skin lesions such as erythema, blisters, erosion, etc. Late stage malignant lymphoma patients have a low immune status, and skin infections often persist with ulceration and exudation, forming systemic scattered skin thickening and shedding.
