Pediatric lymphomas

Lymphomas are tumors of lymphoid tissue, very rare diseases in the structure of childhood morbidity. The reasons for their occurrence are breakdowns in the genetic material and a malfunction of the antitumor immunity in the child’s body. Lymphoma affects two types of lymphocytes: T cells and B cells, and B cell lymphomas are much more common.

Childhood lymphomas are also categorized according to how quickly they spread. Low-grade (indolent) lymphomas develop very slowly but tend to be more common in the body. High-grade to moderate-grade lymphomas spread faster but usually respond well to intensive treatment. The latter type is more common in children.

Types of diseases

Specialists identify the following types of pathology in children:

• Burkitt’s lymphoma;
• diffuse B cell large cell lymphoma;
• Hodgkin’s lymphoma;
• lymphoblastic and anaplastic large cell lymphomas.

Other types of lymphomas in children are extremely rare. It must be remembered that the earlier a disease is detected, the easier it is to get rid of it. Therefore, you need to be attentive to your health and seek qualified help in time. The doctor may suspect the presence of pathology during a routine examination. To clarify the diagnosis, a comprehensive study of the whole organism is used.

Symptoms of the disease

In addition to the general signs of lymphoma in children (malaise, weakness, fever, swollen lymph nodes), there are also symptoms due to localization. That is, if the abdominal cavity is affected, then there is an increase in the volume of the abdomen, abdominal pain, signs of intestinal obstruction (vomiting, absence of stool), urinary disturbance, jaundice; with damage to the chest cavity – cough, difficulty breathing, lack of air, etc.

Diagnostics

At Tel Aviv Medical Clinic, the leading clinic in the country, examinations are carried out using advanced, high-tech equipment, which allows you to get the most accurate results and, on their basis, develop the optimal treatment tactics. To accurately diagnose and promptly begin treatment, the pediatric hematologist will prescribe the necessary studies. The diagnosis of lymphoma consists of two parts: 

• Histological diagnosis. To determine the variant of lymphoma, it is necessary to study the tumor substrate. This sometimes allows the diagnosis to be made non-invasively (without resorting to surgery).
• Staging, that is, determining the extent of the lesion. For this, various types of imaging (CT, MRI, PET) are used, as well as the study of bone marrow and cerebrospinal fluid punctures.