What is lymphoma and how is it caused

What is lymphoma? How is it caused?

Malignant lymphoma is a large class of tumors with considerable heterogeneity. Although it is more likely to occur in lymph nodes, due to the distribution characteristics of the lymphatic system, lymphoma is a systemic disease that can invade almost any tissue and organ in the body. The clinical manifestations of malignant lymphoma have certain common characteristics, but also vary greatly according to different pathological types, sites of invasion and ranges.

Lymphoma causes:

1. Caused by viruses: Although people have considered that some clinical manifestations of lymphoma, such as fever, sweating, and leukocytosis, are similar to infections in many aspects, it is believed that some lymphomas are caused by viruses. Burkitt lymphoma is related to Epstein-Barr virus infection.

The detailed mechanism of virus-induced lymphoma is not fully understood. Virus replication is related to the production of a reverse activation factor, tax, which induces the expression of the REL gene and causes cell proliferation. Other factors are needed to cause cells to transform into malignant cells. In high-incidence areas, many people are infected with HTLV-1, but only a few develop T-cell lymphoma.

2. The role of immunosuppression: The occurrence of lymphoma is closely related to immunosuppression. The incidence of lymphoma in patients who need to take long-term medication to suppress the immune mechanism due to organ transplantation is significantly higher than that of the general population, and it occurs earlier. Another fact that has received widespread attention is that many patients with primary immunodeficiency and acquired immunodeficiency AIDS are also prone to lymphoma and other tumors. In particular, the incidence of lymphoma is higher in patients who are also infected with the Epstein-Barr virus.