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Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (also known as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, NHL, or sometimes just lymphoma) is a cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.
Lymphoma starts in the body’s lymph system (also known as the lymphatic system). The lymph system is part of the immune system, which helps fight infections and some other diseases. It also helps fluids move through the body.
Lymphomas can start anywhere in the body where lymph tissue is found. The major sites of lymph tissue are:
Treatment for NHL depends on which type it is, so it’s important for doctors to find out the exact type of lymphoma you have. The type of lymphoma depends on what type of lymphocyte is affected (B cells or T cells), how mature the cells are when they become cancerous, and other factors.
The lymph system is made up mainly of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infections. There are 2 main types of lymphocytes:
Lymphoma can start in either type of lymphocytes, but B-cell lymphomas are most common.
Types of NHL can also be grouped based on how fast they grow and spread:
Regardless of how quickly they grow, all non-Hodgkin lymphomas can spread to other parts of the lymph system if not treated. Eventually, they can also spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver, brain, or bone marrow.
There are many types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), so classifying them can be quite confusing (even for doctors). Several different systems have been used, but the most recent system is the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The WHO system groups lymphomas based on:
To learn more, see Types of B-cell Lymphoma and Types of T-cell Lymphoma
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Freedman AS, Freidberg JW, Aster JC. Clinical presentation and initial evaluation of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In: Post T, ed. Uptodate. UpToDate; 2022. Accessed September 13, 2023.
Lewis, WD, Seth, L, Jones, KL. Lymphoma: diagnosis and treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2020;101(1):34-41.
Last Revised: February 15, 2024
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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