Healthy lymphatic cells can become cancerous

• April 26, 2024

Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system that, ironically, are part of the body's defense mechanism to fight infections and diseases. Sometimes the abnormal growth of healthy lymphatic cells, causes the creation of tumors and, eventually, can become cancer cells.

Without treatment, cancer cells can leave the tissues and begin infecting other parts of the lymphatic system and eventually pass to other organs of the body. There are essentially two types of lymphomas, the lymphoma of Hodgkin and lymphoma no-Hodgkin .

Hodgkin's lymphoma is characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. Other lymphomas do not contain these cells. The rest of the lymphomas were classified as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or NHL. There are a number of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma subtypes and each one is very different.

One type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is lymphoma lymphoblastic or LLB which frequently occurs in children. In fact 30% of the documented cases of lymphomas in children have been classified as lymphoblastic lymphomas.

LLB is a very aggressive species of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and has caused a large number of deaths in the past. But because of modern medicine and treatment techniques, patients have a better chance of survival.

Unlike LBL, histiocytic lymphoma or LHC is a slow-growing cancer, which is why it is very difficult to detect. In addition, there are times when the cancer reappears after treatment.

How do they become cancerous?

Another type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma appears near the surface of the body. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma or CTLC is a type of lymphoma that affects the skin. What happens is that the white blood cells of the skin become cancerous.

At first, the signs are dry and scaly skin, with red or dark patches. These areas of the skin also itch a lot. But as cancer cells continue to grow, highly sensitive tumors develop. Over time, cancer cells enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body that soon infects other tissues and organs.

Although not common, mantle cell lymphoma is another type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This cancer is very rare, since only 5% of people diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have it.

It is more likely to occur in men 50 years and older. Cancer begins as a slow-growing lymphoma but can suddenly become aggressive in later stages.

Doctors have made 4 classifications or stages of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that basically indicate how quickly and to what extent the cancer cells have spread.

Stage 1 is when the cancer cells are grouped in the lymph nodes. In stage 2, the cancer has spread to two or more groups of lymph nodes or organs on the same side of the diaphragm.

Stage 3 is where the cancer cells infect both sides of the diaphragm and finally stage 4 is when the different types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have gone beyond the lymphatic system and infect other organs such as the liver, bones and lungs .

Video Medicine: Cancer, How Cancer Starts, How Cancer Spreads, Where and Why, Animation. (April 2024).