講師：血液腫瘤科 楊吉雄主任
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a life-threatening disease and the incidence rate is increasing. Research advances have greatly improved treatment and the number of lymphoma-related deaths is decreasing. Classification of NHL There are several subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphomas [NHLs], classified by the types of affected cells and the rate of growth and differentiation, as: T- or B-cell, aggressiveness, cell size (large cell), diffuse or follicular pattern. Diagnosis and Treatment The diagnosis of lymphoma is based on many factors including lymph node or lesion in organ or cancerous tissue. Currently, the CD-markers and some genetic mutation, as Bcl2 are widely applied in the consideration of treatment. It is very important to get a precise diagnosis because treatments vary significantly for different types of NHL. Treatment of NHL There are several treatments for NHL. Most often chemotherapy is doubtless required. But, radiation therapy might be used in combination with chemotherapy in a localized disease or in high grade lymphoma to enforce the effect of chemotherapy. In some types of advanced NHL, bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation are employed for serious or unresponsive cases. For indolent lymphomas, “Watch and Wait” may be considered by some hematologists to see how the disease progresses and presents itself. As newer treatments become available such as immunotherapy, radioimmunotherapy (Zevalin is now FDA approved as a first-line treatment for certain follicular lymphoma cases), and monoclonal antibody therapy. The mortality rates continue to improve despite increasing incidence rates.