About Hodgkin Lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma is a disease where cancer cells form in the lymph system. There are two types of adult Hodgkin lymphoma: classical and nodular lymphocyte-predominant. Another type of lymphoma is called non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Signs & Symptoms
These are signs of Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Painless swelling in the neck, underarm, or groin
- Night sweats
- Fever for no known reason
- Weakness or tiredness
- Weight loss for no known reason
- Itchy skin
Many other health problems can also cause these signs. If you have any of these signs, see your doctor as soon as possible.
Learn more about Hodgkin lymphoma from the National Cancer Institute.
Image of the Lymph System
Specialities & Treatments
The treatment or combination of treatments each patient has depends on the recommendations of the care team and the patient’s wishes. These are the most common types of treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation therapy
- Surgery
Huntsman Cancer Institute’s Hematologic Cancers Program provides comprehensive, compassionate, state-of-the-art care for people with all types of blood cancers and conditions.
Learn more about types of cancer treatments and cancer screenings.
Find a Hodgkin Lymphoma Doctor
Causes & Risk Factors
Anything that increases your chance of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean you are sure to get cancer. It means your chances are higher than the average person’s. Talk with your doctor to learn more about your cancer risk.
These are risk factors for Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Being male
- Being in young or late adulthood
- Having a parent or sibling with Hodgkin lymphoma
- Being infected with Epstein-Barr virus
Learn more about ways to prevent cancer and about family history and genetic counseling.
Diagnosis & Stages
Diagnosis of Hodgkin Lymphoma
Doctors use these tests to diagnose Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Physical exam and history: A health care provider examines your body for signs of disease. Your personal health habits, past illnesses, and symptoms help guide the exam.
- Laboratory tests: By testing body tissues, blood, urine, or other substances in the body, your health care team can check to see how the organs are functioning. They also look for abnormal amounts of blood cells.
- Lymph node biopsy: A health care provider removes part or all of a lymph node to look for abnormal cells under a microscope.
Stages of Hodgkin Lymphoma
Staging is the process that shows if cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Cancer spreads in the body in three ways: through tissue, the lymph system, or the blood.
These are the stages used for Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Stage I, IE
- Stage II, IIE
- Stage III, IIIE, IIIS, IIIE,S
- Stage IV
These are descriptions used with the stages of Hodgkin lymphoma:
- B: You have fever, weight loss, or night sweats.
- A: You don’t have the “B” symptoms.
- E: Cancer is in an organ or tissue that is not part of the lymph system.
- S: Cancer is in the spleen.
When cancer spreads from where it started to another part of the body, it is called metastasis. These metastatic cancer cells are the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if Hodgkin lymphoma spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are actually Hodgkin lymphoma cells. The disease is metastatic Hodgkin lymphoma, not liver cancer.
Learn more about the stages of Hodgkin lymphoma from the National Cancer Institute.
