What Is B-Cell Lymphoma? - WebMD

If your doctor tells you that you have B-cell lymphoma, it means you have a cancer that forms in white blood cells called lymphocytes. Leukemia&LymphomaHome News Reference Slideshows Medications FindanOncologist Overview&Facts Risks&Prevention Symptoms&Signs CancerTypes Diagnosis&Tests YourCancerCareTeam CancerTreatment Cutting-EdgeTreatments Living&Managing Remission&Recurrence Support&Resources AllGuideTopics Lymphoma Hodgkin'sLymphoma Non-Hodgkin'sLymphoma Leukemia ChildhoodLeukemia PolycythemiaVera ChronicMyeloidLeukemia MyelodysplasticSyndrome AcuteLymphoblasticLeukemia WhatIsB-CellLymphoma? TypesofB-CellLymphoma SupportforB-CellLymphoma B-CellLymphomaTreatments RelatedtoLeukemia&Lymphoma Book:TakeControlofYourCancerRisk ChronicLymphocyticLeukemia MultipleMyeloma RadiationTherapy Chemotherapy FindaHematologist CancerHealthCenter CancerA-ZGuide Cancer Leukemia&Lymphoma Reference ArticlesOnB-CellLymphoma B-CellLymphoma B-CellLymphoma-WhatIsB-CellLymphoma? WhatIsB-CellLymphoma? TypesofB-CellLymphoma SupportforB-CellLymphoma B-CellLymphomaTreatments IfyourdoctortellsyouthatyouhaveB-celllymphoma,itmeansyouhaveacancerthatformsinwhitebloodcellscalledlymphocytes.There'salottotakeinatfirst,butyourdoctorcanexplainwhatyoucandototreatthedisease.Makesureyoureachouttofamilyandfriendstogettheemotionalbackingyouneedwhileyoulearnabouthowtomanageyourcondition. TheRoleofLymphocytes Therearetwomaintypesoflymphocytes,butthekindthataffectsthewayyourdiseasedevelopsarecalledBcells.Thesecellsmakeantibodies--proteinsthathelpyourbodyfightgermslikebacteriaandviruses. Lymphocytestravelaroundyourbodythroughanetworkcalledthelymphaticsystem.Lymphnodes--smallglandsinyourneck,armpits,andgroin--arepartofthissystem.Lymphomagrowsinthelymphnodesoranyotherareaofthebodythathaslymphtissue,includingthespleen,bonemarrow,thymus,adenoids,tonsils,andstomach. WhenyouhaveB-celllymphoma,yourbodymakestoomanyabnormalBcells.Thesecellscan'tfightinfectionswell.Theycanalsospreadtootherpartsofyourbody. Therearetwotypesoflymphoma:Hodgkin'slymphomaandnon-Hodgkin'slymphoma.MostB-celllymphomasarenon-Hodgkin'slymphoma. TypesofB-CellLymphomas WhenyourdoctortalkstoyouaboutyourB-celllymphoma,they'llexplainwhichtypeyouhave.Themostcommontypeofnon-Hodgkin'slymphomaiscalleddiffuselargeB-celllymphoma(DLBCL). OthertypesofB-cellnon-Hodgkin'slymphomainclude: Follicularlymphoma--aslow-growingformthatmainlyaffectsolderadults Chroniclymphocyticleukemia/smalllymphocyticleukemia(CLL/SLL) --slowgrowingtypesthatarecloselyrelated Mantlecelllymphoma--afast-growinglymphoma Marginalzonelymphoma--atypethatfeaturessmallcellsthatgrowslowly Burkittlymphoma--ararediseasethatgrowsquickly Lymphoplasmacyticlymphoma(Waldenstrommacroglobulinemia)--arareandslow-growinglymphoma PrimarymediastinallargeB-celllymphoma--araretypethatmainlyaffectsyoungadults,andismorecommoninwomen   CausesofB-CellLymphoma Doctorsdon'tknowwhatcausesmostB-celllymphomas.Thesecancersbeginwhenlymphocytesstarttogrowoutofcontrol. Usually,yourbodymakesnewlymphocytesonlywhenyouneedthemtoreplaceoldcellsthathavedied.InB-celllymphoma,lymphocytesgrowwhenyoudon'tneedthem.Andtheykeepmultiplying. Continued WhoIsatRisk? You'remorelikelytogetB-celllymphomaifyouhaveaweakenedimmunesystem--thebody’sdefenseagainstgerms. YourchancesofgettingB-celllymphomamayalsobehigherifyou: Areage60orolder Aremale Takemedicinesthatweakenyourimmunesystem(immunosuppressants)afteranorgantransplantortotreatanautoimmunedisease HavebeeninfectedwithHIV,theEpstein-Barrvirus,orothergermsthatraiseyourchancesofgettingnon-Hodgkin'slymphoma Hadcontactwithlargeamountsofchemicalsusedtokillbugsandweeds Haveaninheritedconditionthataffectstheimmunesystem KeepinmindthatmostpeoplewhogetB-celllymphomadon'thavetheserisks.Andmostpeoplewhodohavetheseriskswillnevergetthiscancer. WhatAretheSymptoms? AsabnormalBcellsmultiply,theycancauseareasthathavelymphtissuetogetbigger.Sometimesyoucanfeeltheseenlargedlymphnodes.  B-celllymphomaalsocausessymptomslikethese: Nightsweats Fever Unexplainedweightloss Fatigue Appetiteloss Troublebreathing Painorswellinginyourbelly Severeitching   Pagination NextInB-CellLymphomaSeries: TypesofB-CellLymphoma DealingWithChemoNausea Chemo:3ThingsYouNeedtoKnow ComplementaryTreatmentsforCancer InformationAboutNHLClinicalTrials WatchfulWaiting:IsThistheChoiceforYou? TreatingNon-Hodgkin'sLymphoma:YourOptions StemCellTransplants Whataretheyandwhydoweneedthem? LungCancer Seeitinpictures,plusreadthefacts. TopCancer-fightingFoods Fightcanceroneplateatatime. OvarianCancer Doyouknowthesymptoms? SLIDESHOW VitaminD:Nutrition’sNewestStar FEATURE TreatmentsforNon-Hodgkin'sLymphoma SLIDESHOW FeelingDown?TipstoGetYourFightingSpiritBack SLIDESHOW HowPetsCanHelpYourHealth SLIDESHOW WhatAreStemCellTransplants? 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