Lymphoma is a collective term for several types of cancer striking cells of the lymphatic system, which consists of the bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes (tiny immune-system organs located throughout the body). The affected cells, infection-fighting white blood cells known as B- and T-lymphocytes, are made and stored in the lymphatic system and travel throughout the body via the lymph vessels and the blood vessels. These cells play a central role in immune-system function.
About 62,300 cases of lymphoma are diagnosed in the United States each year. One type of lymphoma, known as Hodgkin's disease, will diagnosed in 7,400 individuals in the United States in 2000 and kill 1,400 people. See the Hodgkin's disease for specific information. The other types of lymphoma are referred to collectively as non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs), and are the fifth most common form of cancer in the United States. About 54,900 cases of NHL are expected to be diagnosed in 2000, and 26,100 people will die of the disease this year. For details, see the summary on non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
Another, much rarer form of lymphoma that affects the skin is cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTLC). See the entry on CTLC for detailed information.
Lymphoma occurs when genetic damage to a lymphocyte causes the cell to begin growing abnormally and proliferating. Lymphoma may also occur when cells fail to die normally. The type of lymphoma is determined by what stage of development the B-cell or T-cell had reached when the mutation occurred.
Great strides have been made in the treatment of lymphoma, which usually consists of radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy or a combination of these therapies. People with Hodgkin's disease have a 75-percent chance of a complete cure, and the death rate from the disease has fallen 60 percent since the early 1970s thanks to better treatment, according to the American Cancer Society. Because there are many forms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, survival rates vary.
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