W13 - Lymphoma 2 Flashcards
How could a lymphoma present (6)?
- Painless progressive lymphadenopathy (palpable node)
- Extrinsic compression of any tube (ureter, bile duct, large blood vessel, bowel, trachea oesophagus)
- Infiltrate/impair an organ system (skin rash, ocular, CNS, liver failure)
- Recurrent infections
- Constitutional/B symptoms (weight loss, night sweats, fever)
- asymptomatic
15% of lymphomas are _____________ and the other 85% are ______________
Hodgkin’s lymphoma (15%)
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (85%)
For lymphoma, you want a histological diagnosis (LN). What investigations (4) do you order next?
- Imaging - CT/PET scans
- BM biopsy - if BM involvement
- LP - if meningeal involvement
- Bloods - LDH, albumin, kidney/BM function, HIV/HepB serology, HTLV1
NHL can arise from affected precursor and mature B or T cells - T or F
True
HL - more common in males or females?
Males
Describe the bimodal age incidence of HL
Most common age 20-29 = young women with NS (nodular sclerosing) subtype
Second smaller peak affects >60 years
5 common presentations of HL
- Painless enlarged LN/node
- Obstructive symptoms (tracheal obstruction, SVC compression)
- B symptoms (fever, WL, night sweats)
- Pruritus
- Alcohol-induced pain
Describe classification of HL into classical and nodular
Classical HL:
- Nodular sclerosing (80%) => good prognosis, young women
- Mixed cellularity (17%) => good prognosis
- Lymphocyte rich (rare) => good prognosis
- Lymphocyte depleted (rare) => poor prognosis
Nodular lymphocyte predominant HL (5%) => disorder of the elderly, multiple recurrences
cHL spreads contiguously = what does that mean for staging?
spreads to nearby structures first, then to distant areas.
What scans can be used for HL staging?
PET or CT scans
Describe the Ann Arbor staging
Stage I = one group of nodes
Stage II = >1 group of nodes same side of the diaphragm
Stage III = nodes above AND below the diaphragm (inc. spleen)
Stage IV = extra-nodal spread (liver, bone)
Suffix A IF none of B symptoms
Suffix B if any B symptom present (fever, unexplained WL of >10% in 6m, night sweats)
What is a feature of this nodular sclerosing cHL?
large mediastinal mass that may be so massive that it compresses SVC or trachea
What modality of cancer treatment is used for cHL? give name, duration of treatment, effect on fertility, and 2 long-term S/Es.
When is interim response checked?
- chemotherapy
- ABVD (4 chemo drugs)
- 4-weekly intervals for 2-6 cycles
- fertility preserved
- pulmonary fibrosis, cardiomyopathy
- Interim response checked after x2 cycles and end of treatment => may need radiotherapy
What is the effect of radiotherapy for cHL? Give 3 issues with its use.
Good for eradicating HL but there are 3 problems:
- cannot cure HL by itself
- Damage to normal tissue (risk of breast cancer, leukaemia, lung or skin cancer)
- Combined modality (RT + CT) => greatest risk of 2ndary malignancy
What is the prognosis of HL?
- older patients do less well
- lymphocyte-depleted cases do less well
- 80% of those with stage I/II are cured
- 50% of those with stage IV are cured
- 10% die from relapse of HL in 1st 10 years
- 10% die from treatment complication after 10 years
For NHL, you want a histological diagnosis (LN). What investigations (4) do you order next?
- Stage the disease similarly to HL
- Imaging - CT or PET
- BM biopsy
- LP (if CNS involvement) - Prognostic markers:
- LDH
- Performance status
- HIV/HTLV1 serology
- Hep B screen
What are the two most common NHL subtypes?
- Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (30-40%)
- Follicular lymphoma (25-30%)
Classify subtypes (7) of NHL into very aggressive, aggressive, and indolent types
Very aggressive:
- Burkitt Lymphoma
- T or B cell lymphoblastic leukaemia/lymphoma
Aggressive:
- Diffuse large B cell lymphoma
- Mantle cell
Indolent:
- Follicular lymphoma
- Small lymphocytic/CLL
- Mucosa associated (MALT)
Describe median survival of very aggressive, aggressive, and indolent NHL
and describe their response to chemo
Very aggressive = 2-5 weeks without Rx
Aggressive = 3-12 months without Rx
Indolent = 10-15 years
paradoxically, very aggressive is curable with chemo whereas indolent is incurable (long remissions)
Describe treatment for NHL
Very aggressive = treated like acute leukaemia
Aggressive NHL & indolent NHL = depends on type