The term "cancer" describes the excessive, unplanned growth of cells of the organism, which were normal until the moment of the beginning of the process of carcinogenesis. Hematological cancer affects the production and functioning of blood cells. Most of the hematological cancers begin in the bone marrow, where blood is produced.
Normally, stem cells mature in the bone marrow and develop into three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. In most forms of haematological cancer, this process is interrupted by the uncontrolled growth of an abnormal type of blood cell. This cell is cancerous and its uncontrolled proliferation prevents the blood from performing many of its functions, such as oxygenating tissues, fighting infections and preventing severe bleeding. The most common forms are lymphomas, leukaemias and myelomas.
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a haematological malignancy that affects the lymphatic system. It occurs when, for some unknown reason, a lymphocyte undergoes cancerous proliferation and begins to multiply uncontrollably. This can start in the lymph nodes or other organs of the lymphatic system and, starting at this point, spread to any part of the body. There are many different types of lymphoma and treatment depends on the type of lymphoma. The main types of lymphoma are:
1. Hodgkin's lymphoma
2. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)
Predisposing factors
Possible predisposing factors for the development of lymphoma:
- Epstein-Barr virus
- HTLV-1 virus
- Helicobacter pylori
- Hepatitis C
- Patients with immunosuppression
Symptoms
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The main manifestation of the disease is the enlargement of a palpable lymph node or group of lymph nodes, with or without accompanying systemic symptoms such as fever, night sweats, weight loss or itching. However, lymphoma may mimic any pathological disease without specific features.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis will be made by surgical removal and biopsy of the swollen lymph node or biopsy of the affected organ. This is followed by staging of the disease, which includes whole-body CT scans, marrow biopsy and molecular testing. Finally, PET-CT is performed for high-malignancy lymphomas and Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Treatment
Usually, lymphomas are treated in one of the following ways:
1. Chemotherapy
2. Radiotherapy
3. Biological therapy
4. With some combination of the above
5. Marrow transplantation
6. Simple monitoring
Patients who are diagnosed early and treated in the early stages of the disease are more likely to get well and less likely to have relapses. In recent years, significant advances have been made in the treatment of malignant lymphomas, with complete "cure" of these being a fact.
For slowly progressing non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, no treatment may be given initially. If there are no symptoms, the doctor may prefer to monitor the patient closely and give treatment when it is really needed.
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