Lymphoma, unfortunately, is not considered a rare disease. This pathology is a malignant tumor that is formed from lymphoid tissues and degenerated lymphocytic cell structures.
Because lymphoid tissue cells are present in almost all parts of the body, lymphomas can also develop in virtually any organ. Often, lymphatic tumors are complicated by bone marrow cancer - leukemia.
What causes this disease?
Usually, lymphocytes develop in the lymph nodes, causing them to become larger in size and cause painful sensations.
Lympho-tumors develop in stages, and at the final stage they start metastases, causing the development of additional foci of malignant tumor process.
There are many lymphomas that differ in their cytological, morphological and histological features.
Different lymphomas may have different causes of education, which most often can not be determined. Although oncologists identify several specific factors contributing to malignancy of lymphatic cells and their accumulation in malignant tumors.
Sometimes such a degeneration occurs under the influence of various infectious agents of bacterial or viral origin.
The most common development of lymphomas is caused by agents such as :
- T-cell leukemia virus, which provokes the development of T-cell lymphoma;
- Epstein-Barr virus, most often leading to the emergence of extranodal and Hodgkin's tumor, as well as the lymphogenesis of Burkitt;
- Hepatitis virus, which causes the formation of a diffuse B-cell or splenic tumor;
- Immunodeficiency conditions( HIV, AIDS, etc.);
- Helicobacter pylori often becomes the culprit for the development of lymphatic tumors of the gastric tissues;
- Type 8 herpesvirus causes multifocal Kastlmen syndrome or effusion lymph tumors.
In the presence of genetically determined or autoimmune pathologies, as well as against long-term treatment of cytostatic or immunosuppressive drugs, the likelihood of developing lymphoma increases significantly.
In addition, an important factor is the elderly age, because in young patients and children lymphatic formations are relatively less common.
Can this disease be cured?
Lymphoma does not apply to simple diagnoses, but one can be cured of such a serious pathology if, of course, the tumor process is not started.
Usually, when specialists detect inflammatory processes in the lymph nodes, they do not hurry up with the treatment, choosing observational tactics. After all, very often inflammations in the lymph node tissues develop completely for other reasons, which have nothing in common with lymphatic tumors.
If the inflammation progresses, and the lymph nodes swell more and more, a biopsy is administered. When the diagnosis of lymphoma is confirmed, they begin to directly treat the tumor.
The benefit of the treatment process depends not so much on the stage at which the formation was detected, as on its variety. Certainly, in the presence of 2-3 foci, treatment will be more favorable, but even with a much higher prevalence of the tumor process, one can get rid of pathology.
Topical ways of treating lymphoma
Treatment of lymphatic tumors is a slow and long-term process, which gives hope for a successful cure.
But there are also aggressively progressing varieties of lymphomas, among which the predominant number is in T-cell formations, characterized by greater malignancy and aggressiveness.
The most common methods for treating lymphoma are:
- Systemic polychemotherapy;
- Radiation irradiation treatment;
- Surgical intervention;
- Bone transplant;
- Biotherapy;
- Medication with immunostimulating drugs.
Usually, the treatment process is a complex exercise combining several different therapeutic techniques. The main type of treatment of lymphocytic formations is systemic chemotherapy with the use of several drugs.
Chemotherapy for lymphoma
Chemotherapy treatment involves the use of a variety of drugs, whose action is directed at the destruction of cancer cell structures.
Chemotherapeutic drugs are used not only intravenously, but also orally. And the treatment is usually carried out in a hospital. With some localizations of the lymphatic tumor, antibiotics are additionally prescribed( for example, with oncology in the abdominal region).
Probable Consequences of
Chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of lymphoma are characterized by a variety of adverse reactions, because such drugs destroy not only anomalous malignant, but also full-fledged healthy cellular structures. As a result of the effects of drugs for chemotherapy, there are various adverse reactions.
- Hair loss. After the end of treatment, the hairline grows again, but it may differ from the original color and structural structure.
- In addition to hair, from chemotherapy suffers and digestive system .In patients, the appetite is lost, nausea-vomiting symptoms, diarrhea, ulceration on the lips, and swallowing functions are disturbed.
- Because the chemotherapy also destroys healthy cells, the patient becomes addicted to the infectious pathologies of , its immunity is too weak, therefore fatigue and fatigue are constantly felt.
Nutrition during and after chemotherapy
In the process of chemotherapeutic treatment, the dietary diet of the patient is extremely important. A balanced diet is needed to maintain the protein level and to avoid weight loss.
Often the chemotherapeutic effect is accompanied by nausea, lack of appetite, vomiting and problems with ingestion of food, so the diet is adjusted so that the processes of food delivery only deliver positive emotions and do not bring discomfort.
The temperature of consumed meals should not be above 50 ° C, the nutrition itself during chemotherapy of lymphoma should be of a fractional nature, and in the presence of nauseating signs it is recommended to dissolve a small piece of lemon or ice.
It is better to eat at the same time of the day, while eating slowly, thoroughly chewing food. The diet should be based on liquid foods like cereals or soups. If there is vomiting, it is recommended to give up trying to eat for several hours in order to avoid the development of aversion to consumed dishes.
Radiotherapy
Principles of radiation treatment of lymph tumors are based on high-energy radiation, resulting in the destruction of malignant cancer cells. And the impact is only on certain areas that are in contact with the radio beams, the rest of the tissues are in absolute safety and do not undergo irradiation.
With regard to the treatment of lymphocytes, with this diagnosis, lymph nodes and tissues around them are usually exposed to irradiation.
Most often, radiotherapy with lymphoma is used in conjunction with systemic chemotherapy, and in an independent form, radio-radiation is effective only at the initial stage of oncoprocess in lymphatic tissues. The duration of the course of radiotherapy is determined by specialists in accordance with a specific clinical picture.
Usually the average duration of such treatment does not exceed a three-week period. Treatment is performed with the participation and under the supervision of a radiologist, who plans a full course of irradiation therapy, determines the regimen and dose of radiation, as well as the contours of the zone exposed to radiation exposure.
Such treatment usually does not cause any specific adverse reactions. Sometimes there may be a symptomatology caused by the penetration into the bloodstream of decay products of dead oncocells. It is manifested by fatigue, weakness, and ailments that pass on their own after the end of the irradiation course.
Bone Marrow Transplant
Bone marrow transplantation involves the transfusion of stem cells, which later produce full blood cells. In general, bone marrow transplantation can have three varieties, depending on the transplanted material:
- Isogenic - when biomaterials are taken from an identical twin patient. In such cases, the bone marrow cells are absolutely identical in terms of genetic parameters, which increases the efficiency of the operation and the survival of the transplanted cells;
- Allogeneic - when the biomaterial obtained from the donor is transplanted. This operation requires the maximum correspondence of bone marrow material, otherwise the reaction of rejection is possible;
- Autologous - a similar operation involves the transplantation of cells taken from the patient himself. The bone substance is withdrawn from the patient before treatment by chemotherapy and irradiation and cryopreserved, i.e., frozen. After treatment, the patient is transplanted with his bone marrow.
Before the operation with transplant lymphoma, the patient is necessarily subjected to high-dose chemotherapy treatment, which is necessary for the destruction of all malignant lymphoma cells.
In addition, the goal of such chemotherapy is the maximum possible death of the patient's own stem cells, because as soon as after their mass destruction, transplantation becomes possible.
Biological therapy
The modification treatment of bioreaction, also called biotherapy, is based on the use of chemical preparations made from the cellular structures of the patient with lymphoma.
It is believed that under the influence of such drugs, protective anti-cancer mechanisms are activated, and the body's systems begin to fight cancer independently.
The types of biotherapy include the use of monoclonal antibodies, which are able to combine with oncocells and contribute to their destruction. Often, such treatment is accompanied by symptomatic manifestations reminiscent of influenza ailments:
- Nausea;
- Weakness;
- Headaches;
- Chilliness and feverish condition, etc.
But similar symptoms are eliminated after treatment, which is carried out by intravenous administration of the drug.
Operative method
Surgical treatment of lymphoma involves the removal of education by a traditional surgical route. This method of treatment is effective only if only one lymph node tumor is diagnosed. But this happens quite rarely, because the surgical method of treatment is not so popular. In addition, strict life indications are required to remove the tumor.
Usually, this operation is performed for tumors with gastrointestinal localization. After ectomy, the patient is shown a complete polychemotherapeutic course aimed at destroying the oncocells remaining in the patient's body. Such actions will help to avoid the recurrence of lymphoma.
Necessary medications
There are several treatment protocols assigned according to the stage, cytological and histological characteristics of the tumor.
For systemic treatment, monoclonal antibodies, cytostatic and corticosteroid preparations are used such as:
- Rubomycin;
- Prednisolone;
- Rituximab;
- Bleomycin;
- procarbazine;
- Cyclophosphamide;
- Vincristine;
- Chlorobutin;
- Adriamycin;
- Dacarbazine;
- Etopizoda, etc.
Almost all of the above medications are administered by infusion. When treating skin lymph tumors, local ointment preparations from the group of corticosteroids are often used.
The oncologist determines the individual dosage and duration of the therapeutic course for each medication used against lymphoma. If a lymphoplastic recurrence occurs, the drugs used are replaced with the more potent ones, although there are significantly more side effects in such drugs.
Diet
The patient's diet for lymphoma is adjusted by specialists depending on the therapy used.
Such people are not recommended to eat food with additives of chemical origin and preservatives, red fatty meat, smoked products and alcohol, various sodas and other unhealthy kinds of products.
A dietary diet is especially important in systemic chemotherapeutic treatment, when the body is exposed to aggressive action by the strongest drugs.
During this period it is necessary to ensure that the amount of calories it consumes during the day is supplied to the patient's body, while all food should be as useful and natural as possible.
Special attention should be given to the ration of a patient who has already undergone chemotherapy course. In this case, the food should be delivered in such a way as to accelerate the restoration of the functionality of the organs and systems that were most exposed to the negative effects of the drugs used.
For this purpose, patients are recommended to base the ration on sour-milk products, vegetables, fish, fruits, dietary meats, cereals, food enriched with iron and phosphorus.
What is the prognosis of
The prognosis for Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas differs significantly. Hodgkin's lymphomas, whose treatment began at the initial stage of development, are characterized by a 95% survival rate, and at the final stage - 65% five-year survival. In general, Hodgkin's lymphocytes are very amenable to therapy.
Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are characterized by a worse prognosis and a blurred pattern of survival. With the emergence of slowly progressing and low malignant tumors, the five-year survival rate is about 70%, and in the case of aggressive forms of lymphatic formations( T-cell), the survival rate falls below 30%.
In general, non-Hodgkin's lymphocytes have less comforting predictions, depending on the response to therapy. If after the treatment it was possible to achieve complete remission, then the survival rate reaches about 50%, and with partial remission results, the survival rate drops to 15%.
Hodgkin's Lymphoma Relief Conference will tell this video: