Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a blood cancer that appears as a solid tumour in the glands, usually of the neck, chest, armpit or groin. There are 35 different types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

What is non-Hodgkin lymphoma?

Although it appears as a solid tumour in the glands, usually of the neck, chest, armpit or groin, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a blood cancer.

These glands, called lymph nodes, are a crucial part of our immune system that fights infection.

There are two main types of lymphoma: Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin. Hodgkin lymphoma is less common and tends to affect the lymph nodes in the head and neck. Most lymphomas are non-Hodgkin, which can affect any lymph node or related tissue in the body.

There are 35 different types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Where in the body does non-Hodgkin lymphoma develop?

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer that develops in the lymph nodes and related tissues of the lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system is the network of vessels that runs throughout the body carrying fluid containing white blood and other important immune system cells. Lymph nodes respond to infections by releasing white blood cells called lymphoid cells into the blood stream to fight it off.

When someone has lymphoma, lots of abnormal lymphoid, or lymphoma, cells are produced within a particular lymph node or tissue.

When the blood cancer occurs within a lymph nodes it is called a nodal lymphoma. Some lymphomas develop in other tissues around the body that the lymphatic system extends to, such as the kidneys and gut. These are called extranodal lymphomas.
 
Lymphoid cells are the same cells that become cancerous in people who have leukaemia, another form of blood cancer. The difference is that leukaemia develops in the bone marrow and affects normal blood cell production. Lymphoma, on the other hand, develops in the lymphatic system  and does not affect normal blood cell production.

In patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma the cancer cells cluster in the lymph nodes or related tissues and form tumours. These can also spill into the blood stream and spread the cancer around the body, including to other lymph nodes.

What are the signs and symptoms?