Types of lymphoma
There are 2 main types of lymphoma:
· Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the most common type of lymphoma, accounting for about 90% of cases[1].
· Hodgkin lymphoma (also called Hodgkin’s disease) is a rare type of cancer.
These 2 types are classified by how the lymphoma cells look under a microscope. Each of these lymphomas have different sub-types.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
There are many different types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These are classified into 2 groups based on type of lymphocyte affected and how fast the cancer is growing:
• B-cell lymphomas, which start in B lymphocytes (white blood cells that produce antibodies). These are the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Australia, accounting for around 85%[2] cases.
• T-cell lymphomas, which start in cells called T lymphocytes (white blood cells that attack foreign cells as part of the immune system). These account for around 15%[3] of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases in Australia.
Types of B-cell lymphoma include:
• diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (the most common type of B-cell lymphoma)
• follicular lymphoma
• small lymphocytic lymphoma (also called chronic lymphocytic leukaemia)
• mantle cell lymphoma
• marginal zone B-cell lymphoma
• Burkitt lymphoma
• lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (Waldenstrom macroglobulinaemia)
• hairy cell leukaemia (this is sometimes considered to be a type of lymphoma)
• primary central nervous system lymphoma.
Types of T-cell lymphoma include:
• precursor T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (sometimes called precursor T-lymphoblastic leukaemia)
• peripheral T-cell lymphoma
• cutaneous (skin) T-cell lymphoma (skin lymphoma can also be a type of B-cell lymphoma).
Hodgkin lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma is divided into 2 groups:
• classical Hodgkin lymphoma – this makes up about 95% of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma in developed countries
• nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma.
Types of classical Hodgkin lymphoma include::
• nodular sclerosis (the most common type of classical Hodgkin lymphoma)
• mixed cellularity
• lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin lymphoma
• lymphocyte-rich Hodgkin lymphoma.
Both Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma occur more often in adults, but these cancers can affect children and teenagers.
In children, Hodgkin lymphoma is more likely to affect older children and teenagers, while non-Hodgkin lymphoma tends to occur more often in younger children[4]. The most common types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children are:
• lymphoblastic lymphoma
• Burkitt lymphoma
• diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
• Cancer Council (2019). Understanding Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma https://www.cancer.org.au/assets/pdf/understanding-non-hodgkin-lymphoma-booklet
• Cancer Council (2019). Understanding Hodgkin Lymphoma https://www.cancer.org.au/assets/pdf/understanding-hodgkin-lymphoma-booklet
• American Cancer Society. Hodgkin Lymphoma http://www.cancer.org/cancer/hodgkindisease/index
• National Cancer Institute (2020). Adult Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment (PDQ®) – Patient Version http://www.cancer.gov/types/lymphoma/patient/adult-hodgkin-treatment-pdq
• American Cancer Society. Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Adults) http://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkinlymphoma/index
• Leukaemia Foundation Australia. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma http://www.leukaemia.org.au/blood-cancers/lymphomas/non-hodgkin-lymphoma-nhl
• American Cancer Society. Lymphoma of the Skin http://www.cancer.org/cancer/lymphomaoftheskin/index
• American Cancer Society. Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Children http://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkinlymphomainchildren/index
• National Cancer Institute (2020). Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment (PDQ®) – Patient Version http://www.cancer.gov/types/lymphoma/patient/child-nhl-treatment-pdq