lymphomas Flashcards
what is follicular lymphoma
a neoplasm of follicular centre B cells
how will follicular lymphoma present?
painless lymphadenopathy
how do you treat follicular lymphoma ?
incurable so you treat the symptoms.
Low dose chemo and radiotherapy for the symptoms
what is the predominant genetic abnormality in follicular lymphoma?
translocation between chromosomes 18 and 14 which results in upregulation of BCL-2 which is an anti-apoptotic protein. It switches off normal apoptosis that normally takes place in the germinal centres
what will a biopsy in diffuse large B cell lymphoma show?
large tumour cells with prominent nucleoli
how does diffuse large B cell lymphoma normally present
rapidly enlarging mass at a single nodal or extra-nodal site such as GI tract, skin, bone, CNS
what is Burkitt’s lymphoma ?
neoplasm of proliferating follicle centre B cells
High-grade with characteristic centroblasts
what is the most common type of Burkitt’s lymphoma in the UK?
sporadic
children and young adults are mostly affected
give examples of extra-nodal disease in Burkitt’s lymphoma
- Jaws and facial bone (endemic BL)
- Jaw lymphadenopathy is common
- Ileocaecal region of GIT
- Ovaries
- Kidneys
- Breast
what is the primary genetic abnormality in Burkitt’s?
overexpression of the myc oncogene
what are the classical characteristics of Hodgkin’s lymphoma
very large neoplastic B cells: Reed sternberg cells
prominent background of reactive white blood cells
They also do not present at extra-nodal sites
what sort of spread is seen in HL?
continguous - it spreads from one lymph node to the next
describe Reed-Sternberg cells
Abundant cytoplasm
Binucletae (also monocuclear and multinucleate variants)
Prominent nucleolus (one per nucleus)
define a myeloma
neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells in the bone
how would you treat advanced follicular lymphoma
rituximab + chemo
Then give maintenance rituximab for 2 years
