A lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a part of the body's immune system and helps filter out bacteria, viruses, and other unwanted substances. Most people don't notice the workings of their lymphatic systems; in fact, the only time you may be aware of your lymphatic system is when the lymph nodes (which are sometimes referred to as glands) swell up.Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a disease in which cancer cells form in a person's lymphatic system and start to grow uncontrollably. There are several different types of lymphomas.
This whole system plays an important role in immunity and fighting off disease. Lymphoma is a cancer in which cancerous lymphocytes grow out of control in a lymph node to form a tumor. Hodgkins disease is one type of lymphoma. As noted, the rest of the lymphomas are lumped together under the term "non-Hodgkin's lymphomas," and there are many different types. Non-Hodgkin's disease cells can also spread to other organs.
The lymphatic system is part of the immune system, whose function is to fight disease and infections.The lymphatic system includes:Lymph - fluid in which the lymphocyte cells are suspended.Lymph vessels - thin tubes that carry lymph fluid throughout the body.Lymphocytes - cells that fight infection and disease.Lymph nodes - bean-shaped organs, found in the underarm, groin, neck, and abdomen, that act as filters for the lymph fluid as it passes through them.
Lymphoma is the third most common cancer in children in the United States. Approximately 10 percent of cancers in children less than 15 years of age are lymphomas.Lymphomas are the third most common group of cancers in children and adolescents in the United States, accounting for approximately 13 percent of newly diagnosed cancers in this age group. Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas represent approximately 60 percent of these diagnoses, and Hodgkin's disease accounts for the remainder. Approximately 500 cases of childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma occur annually in the United States.
Suggested risk factors include:
* genetic disease of the immune system
* unprotected exposure to strong sunlight; While risk factors for some cancers include extended exposure to strong sunlight without protection, a high-fat, low-fiber diet, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption, none of these strongly affect a person's risk of developing NHL.
* high-fat, low-fiber diet
* smoking
* excessive alcohol consumption
* environmental factors such as radiation, chemicals, and infections
* organ transplantation ;Transplant patients undergo drug therapy that suppress their immune system (T-cells) to keep it from attacking the new organ(s). Depending on the drugs used, this intentional suppression poses a significant risk to the patient of developing NHL
* infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV-1)
* infections with malaria
* history of infectious mononucleosis (caused by an infection with the Epstein-Barr virus)
* Helicobacter pylori bacterium, which has been identified as a cause of stomach ulcers
* An increased risk of NHL was found only among women who began using hair-coloring products.Study shown that women who used darker permanent hair coloring products for more than 25 years showed the highest increased risk.
* Patients treated with both radiation therapy and chemotherapy have an increased risk of developing secondary leukemias or NHL. Exposure to nuclear reactor accidents and atomic bombs as well as patients treated with radiation therapy for other cancers have a risk of contracting NHL but it may not occur right away.
* Certain herbicides and insecticides are associated with increased risk of developing NHL. Some chemotherapy drugs (not all) used to treat other cancers may increase the risk of developing leukemia or NHL five to 10 years later and patients treated for Hodgkin's disease have a 4-5% risk of developing NHL over a 10-year period, according to the American Cancer Society.
In both men and women, body-mass index was also significantly associated with higher rates of death due to cancer of the esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and kidney; the same was true for death due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
Solar radiation is a major risk factor for melanoma.Two studies in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute have found that sun exposure may have a beneficial influence on some types of cancer. One study found an association between sun exposure and increased survival from melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer for which sun exposure is a risk factor, while the other found an association between sun exposure and a reduced risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
People infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are at an increased risk of developing certain lymphomas (cancers of the lymphatic system), according to a study.HCV causes hepatitis, which is an inflammation of the liver. The HCV virus is carried through the blood and is passed from person to person through the exchange of bodily fluids -- via shared needles, open wounds, and sexual contact, among other means. HCV is also known to cause cirrhosis and liver cancer.The results of a study indicate that a higher prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection in Assiut patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma than in the control groups.
Researchers from Sydney University, Australia, have found that your risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is reduced after high exposure to sunlight. NHL is a type of blood cancer. Dr Anne Kricker, team leader, was looking at whether high exposure to sunlight would increase NHS risk - the researchers were surprised to find that, in fact, the opposite seems to be the case.
Indirect evidence, notably ecological comparisons and an association with skin cancer, links non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
(NHL) with exposure to sunlight.
A case study in Sweden: The country of Sweden was divided into 4 geographical regions based on latitude as follows: upper north (63–69°), lower north(60–62°), upper south (57–59°) and lower south (55–56° ). Potential sunlight exposure was assessed by classifying each individual’s work and home addresses according to latitude.Study supported for a role of UV light exposure in the etiology of NHL in Sweden, our findings based on individual occupational data are not consistent with this hypothesis.The issue thus warrants further studies.
In women, ultraviolet radiation exposure from time spent in the sun appears to boost the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma -- a type of cancer involving the body's lymphatic system, according to a large "population-based" study.
It's been suggested that increasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation may be responsible, at least in part, for the observed increase in the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
To investigate, Dr. Yawei Zhang of Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut and colleagues examined data from a case-control study of women living in Connecticut. The study involved 601 women with confirmed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and female controls who were also Connecticut residents.
A history of suntan was generally associated with an increased risk of lymphoma. In particular, compared to women who had never had a suntan, those who had had a suntan for less than 3 months per year for more than 60 years were at almost 3 times the risk.
However, there appeared to be no increased risk in women who reported having a suntan for 3 or more months per year. The researchers consider a lower suntan duration to have been indicative of irregular exposure. A regular suntan, they suggest, may have provided protective pigmentation that would reduce ultraviolet radiation absorption.
In addition, women with the greatest exposure to strong sunlight between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the summer had a 70 percent increased risk compared to those with the lowest exposure.
The investigators think further studies are warranted "to investigate whether genetic susceptibility may modify the relation between sun exposure and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma."
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