Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Overview Lymphoma is a cancer of the white blood cells, namely lymphocytes, that happen to constitute the lymphatic system. Lymphoma comprises more than 67 subtypes of two closely related cancers that affect the lymphatic system, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)1. There are six primary types of Hodgkin lymphoma and at least 61 types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma1. In 2009, it is estimated that 74,490 people will be diagnosed with lymphoma (65,980 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 8,510 Hodgkin lymphoma) and 20,510 (19,160 from nonHodgkin lymphoma and 1,350 from Hodgkin lymphoma) will die from the disease in the United States1. Nearly all nonHodgkin lymphoma cases occur in adults, with the average age of diagnosis in the 60’s. While scientists do not know the exact causes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, they do know that it is not caused by injury or by coming into contact with someone else with the disease. Most people diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma have no known risk factors, though increasingly many scientists believe infections may play an important role in causing select types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.