Superficial lymph node manifestations of lymphoma

The characteristics of lymphoma are generally painless, smooth surface, no tenderness, firm, full, elastic, and feel like a "ball of wool" or "spindle". In the early and middle stages, the lymph nodes are not adhered to the skin and can move; in the late stage, several lymph nodes will fuse together, adhere to the skin, and cannot move.

The speed of lymph node enlargement also reflects its clinical manifestations. Most lymphomas are progressive lymph node enlargement, and there are also lymph nodes that enlarge rapidly in a short period of time, such as lymphoblastic lymphoma, whose systemic symptoms are often also very obvious. When the lymph nodes shrink, the symptoms are alleviated or disappear. Some patients' tumors grow slowly, such as low-grade malignant lymphoma, and their tumors are often found to have enlarged more than a year later, or there is no significant change for many years, but when the patients seek medical treatment, they are already in stage three or four. In some HL patients, the enlarged lymph nodes may shrink or be relatively stable, and then continue to grow, which is called the "sometimes big and sometimes small" phenomenon. In a few cases, the enlarged lymph nodes may shrink for a time and then swell again after anti-inflammatory and anti-tuberculosis treatment, which may be misdiagnosed as lymphadenitis or lymph node tuberculosis.

In addition, if young people have swollen axillary lymph nodes, lymphoma should be considered, which originates from the inguinal lymph nodes and is more common in men. Generally, inflammation rarely affects the supratrochlear lymph nodes, so if there are lymph nodes here, they should be taken seriously.