What tests do you need to do if you have lymphoma

Maybe you are not very familiar with lymphoma, but when you hear this name, you can imagine its seriousness, which is mainly due to everyone's fear of cancer. Indeed, lymphoma is a relatively serious disease that directly endangers the patient's life. Today, let's learn about what examinations patients with this disease need to undergo.

1. Blood picture: Generally nothing special in the early stage. Anemia is seen in the late stage or combined with hemolytic anemia. White blood cells are generally normal except for bone marrow involvement. Eosinophilia is common in HD.
2. Bone marrow image: There is generally no abnormality in the bone marrow before it is invaded by lymphoma. Finding a branch of Reed-Sternberg cells in the bone marrow smear of HD is of diagnostic value.
3. Biochemical examination: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate increases, indicating that the disease is active; serum copper and ferritin increase as the disease progresses. They decrease during remission; zinc, on the contrary, increases in alkaline phosphatase, which may indicate liver or bone involvement. Patients with liver involvement may also have increased 5-nucleotidase. Hypercalcemia indicates bone invasion.
4. Immunological abnormalities: HD patients have reduced reactivity to tuberculin and other stimuli. The rate of lymphocyte transformation in vitro is reduced, and the degree of transformation is related to the progression of the disease.
6. Biopsy: This is an essential examination method for confirming the diagnosis, and the lymph nodes in the lower neck or armpit should generally be selected.
7. Mediastinoscopy: Mediastinoscopy can be used to enter the mediastinum for biopsy through the pleura, which is relatively simple and safe.
8. CT, MRI and sonographic examinations: can detect intrathoracic, retroperitoneal, and mesenteric lymph node lesions as well as liver and spleen lesions.
9. Laparotomy: It can determine whether the spleen, liver and intra-abdominal lymph nodes are involved, which is essential for the use of radiotherapy and determination of the irradiation field (pathological staging). If splenectomy is performed at the same time, it can also avoid damage to adjacent tissues and organs due to radiotherapy in the spleen area.