Lymphoma Flashcards
Lymphoma
Clonal proliferation of lymphoid cells within lymph nodes or the spleen - B cells or T cells
Types of lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma:
- high grade
- low grade
Hodgkin lymphoma
Low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma features
Slow growing
May be asymptomatic or have mild B symptoms
Starting treatment early does not affect outcome
Not cured as always risk of relapse
High grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma features
Fast growing
Survival is worse in first few years but then levels out after 3 years
Requires treatment
Can be in long term remission and cured
Examples of high grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma features
Burkitts lymphoma
Diffuse large B cell lymphoma
Examples of low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma features
Follicular lymphoma
How can lymphoma be classified
Pathological description - cell origin
Immunophenotypic - antigens, disease-associated proteins
Cytogenic - translocations, karyotyping, FISH
Disease sites e.g. gastric MALT, splenic, cutaneous
Causative factors e.g. post-transplant, enteropathy
Hodgkin lymphoma histology
Reed - Sternberg cells
Life cycle of a B cell
- Produced in bone marrow
- Mature into naïve B cells
- Travel through blood
- Stored in lymph node follicles and lymph organs
- Differentiate into plasma cells in the medulla of a lymph node
- Produce antibodies
Where are T cells stored
Paracortex of lymph nodes
Surface proteins on B cells
CD20 (usually) - help B cell antigens bind to specific pathogen
Causes activation into plasma cells and antibody production (igM)
or
causes cluster of B cells making a germinal centre (centroblast) which produces IgG or IgA
Then differentiates to a centrocyte which makes plasma cells or memory B cells
Types of T cell
Helper T cell - cd4
Cytotoxic T cell - cd8
Complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Spread to GI tract - bowel obstruction
- Bone marrow spread - pancytopenia
- Spinal cord compression
Diffuse large B cell lymphoma features
Most common
Aggressive
Follicular lymphoma features
Indolent
From chromosomal translocation of chromosome 14 and 18
