Non-Hodgkin lymphoma - Diagnosis - NHS

If you're referred to hospital, a biopsy will usually be carried out, as this is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Skiptomaincontent Home HealthAtoZ Non-Hodgkinlymphoma Backto Non-Hodgkinlymphoma Diagnosis - Non-Hodgkinlymphoma Contents Overview Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment Complications IfyouseeyourGPbecauseyou'reconcernedaboutsymptomsofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma,they'llaskaboutyourhealthandmaycarryoutasimplephysicalexamination.Ifnecessary,yourGPwillreferyoutohospitalforfurthertests.Ifyou'rereferredtohospital,abiopsywillusuallybecarriedout,asthisistheonlywaytoconfirmadiagnosisofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma. Biopsy Abiopsyinvolvesremovingsomeoralloftheswollenlymphnode,whichisthenstudiedinalaboratory.Abiopsyisasmallprocedureoroperationthatcanoftenbecarriedoutunderalocalanaesthetic (wheretheareaisnumbed,butyou'reawake).ThismaybeperformedbyaradiologistusinganultrasoundorCTscan,orasanoperationbyasurgeon.Insomecases, theswollenlymphnodeisn'teasilyaccessibleandageneralanaestheticmayberequired(whereyou'reasleep).Apathologist(anexpertinthestudyofdiseasedtissue)willthencheckthetissuesampleforthepresenceofcancerouscells.Iftheyfindcancerouscells,theycanalsoidentifyexactlywhichtypeofnon-Hodgkinlymphomayouhave,whichisimportantforplanningyourtreatment. Typesofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma Therearemorethan30typesofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma.MacmillanCancerSupporthasdetailedinformationaboutthedifferenttypesofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma Furthertesting Ifabiopsyconfirmsadiagnosisofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma,furthertestingwillberequiredtocheckhowfarthelymphomahasspread.Thisallowsadoctortodiagnosethestageofyourlymphoma.Furthertestsmayinclude:bloodtests–samplesofbloodwillbetakenthroughoutyourdiagnosisandtreatmenttocheckyourgeneralhealth,thelevelsofredandwhitecellsandplateletsinyourblood,andhowwellorganssuchasyourliverandkidneyareworkingchestX-ray–thiscancheckwhether thecancer hasspreadtoyourchestorlungsbonemarrowsample–anotherbiopsymaybecarriedouttoseeifthelymphomahasspreadtoyourbonemarrow;thisinvolvesusingalongneedletoremoveasampleofbonemarrowfromyourpelvisandcanbedoneusingalocalanaestheticCTscan–thisscantakesaseriesofX-raysthatbuildupa3Dpictureoftheinsideofthebodytocheckthespreadof thecancer MRIscan–thisscanusesstrongmagneticfieldstobuildupadetailedpictureofareasofyourbodytocheckthespreadofthecancerPETscan– thisscanmeasurestheactivityofcellsindifferentpartsofthebody,and cancheckthespreadofthecancerandtheimpactoftreatment;it'susuallytakenatthesametimeasaCTscantoshowpreciselyhowthetissuesofdifferentpartsofthebodyareworkinglumbarpuncture –usingathinneedle,asampleofspinalfluidistakenandexaminedtoseeifitcontainsanylymphomacells Stagesof non-Hodgkinlymphoma Whenthetestingiscomplete,itshouldbepossibletodeterminethestageofyourlymphoma."Staging"meansscoringthecancerbyhowfarit'sspread.Themainstagesofnon-Hodgkinlymphomaare:stage1–thecancerislimitedtoonegroupoflymphnodes,suchasyourneck,armpitorgroinnodes,eitheraboveorbelowyourdiaphragm(thesheetofmuscleunderneaththelungs)stage2–2ormorelymphnodegroupsareaffected,botheitheraboveorbelow,butjustononesideof, thediaphragmstage3–the cancerhasspreadtolymphnodegroupsonbothsidesofthediaphragm,aboveandbelowstage4–thelymphomahasspreadbeyondthelymphaticsystemandisnowpresentinbothlymphnodesandorgansorbonemarrowHealthprofessionalsalsoaddtheletter"A"or"B"toyourstagetoindicatewhetherornotyouhavecertainsymptoms."A"isputafteryourstageifyouhavenoadditionalsymptomsotherthanswollenlymphnodes."B"isputafteryourstageifyouhaveadditionalsymptomsofweightloss,feverornightsweats.Insomecases,healthprofessionalsalsouseadditionalletterstoindicatewherethecancerfirstdeveloped.Forexample,"E"(extranodal)meansthecancerdevelopedoutsidethelymphaticsystem.Yourspecialistcareteamwillbeabletoexplaininmoredetailwhatyourtestresultsmean. Gradingnon-Hodgkinlymphoma Testingcanalsohelphealthprofessionalsdecidethe"grade"ofthecancer.Thereare2maingradesofnon-Hodgkinlymphoma:low-gradeorindolentnon-Hodgkinlymphomaiswherethecancergrowsslowly,andyoumaynotexperienceanysymptomsformanyyearshigh-gradeoraggressivenon-HodgkinlymphomaiswherethecancergrowsquicklyandaggressivelyLow-gradetumoursdon'tnecessarilyneedimmediatemedicaltreatment,butaresometimeshardertocompletelycure.High-gradelymphomasneedtobetreatedimmediately,buttendtorespondmuchbettertotreatmentandcanoftenbecured.Insomecases,low-gradelymphomascandevelopintohigh-gradelymphomasovertime.Readmoreabouttreatingnon-Hodgkinlymphoma. Pagelastreviewed:20June2022 Nextreviewdue:20June2025 Previous : Causes Next : Treatment