Hodgkin Lymphoma

Diagnosis

Many people with Hodgkin lymphoma are asymptomatic. They have none of the classic symptoms, which may include painless swelling of lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin; persistent fatigue; chills and fever; night sweats; severe itching; loss of 10 percent or more of body weight. A chest X-ray taken for another reason sometimes reveals an abnormality that leads to a diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Confirming the diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma in a patient who has symptoms can be difficult. Reed-Sternberg cells must be found in a lymph tissue sample (biopsy) from an enlarged lymph node, which may contain only a few malignant cells. Other procedures may be valuable in evaluating Hodgkin lymphoma: chest X-ray, CT scan of the chest and abdomen, PET scan, gallium scan, and blood tests.

The pattern of disease spread is usually orderly, involving lymph nodes in the neck, above the collarbone, under the arms, or in the chest above the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen (diaphragm). The disease rarely skips over an area of lymph nodes as it spreads. Lymphomas may eventually spread outside the lymph nodes in virtually any part of the body.

Hodgkin lymphoma is one of two general types of lymphatic system cancers. The other type, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is far more common.