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.