lymphoma definition | Definition of lymphoma: lymph node cancer

Definition of lymphoma: lymph node cancer

Understanding the functioning of the immune system
To fully understand lymph node cancer, says lymphoma, it is important to know how the immune system and lymphatic system works. Indeed, lymphoma is a tumor of the lymphatic system.

Cancer

Lymphoma: Definition of the immune system
The immune system of our organism is a complex group that fights both external aggressions and the mutations of our own cells. Thus, despite the repeated external and internal attacks that our body undergoes, we remain most often in good health.

The immune system consists of several cells, organs and tissues whose mission is to identify, locate and destroy anything that may pose a threat to the organism: microbes, bacteria, abnormal cells, etc.

Lymphoma: definition of lymphatic system
The most important part of the immune system is the lymphatic system. It consists of lymphatic vessels, tubules in which the lymph circulates. Some white blood cells (lymphocytes) are found in this slightly yellowish liquid. The lymphatic system is responsible for producing, storing and transporting these lymphocytes.

Lymph is filtered by several so-called lymphoid organs: spleen, tonsils, bone marrow (and thymus in children). The objective is to extract the bacteria, viruses and all the pathogenic substances.

Note: About three litres of lymph are drained and cleaned daily.

Definition of lymph nodes
Moreover, throughout the lymphatic network, there are small bulges: the lymph nodes (they are several hundred in the body). These lymph nodes, which are also responsible for filtering the lymph, are present throughout the organism. They contain macrophages, which are defense cells capable of destroying microbes. They are particularly numerous at the groin, armpit and neck levels.

Thus, when the lymph nodes of the neck swell, as in the case of angina for example, this indicates that the lymph nodes of this zone filter a large number of bacteria. This transient edema reflects the reaction of the immune system.

Angina

Lymphoma: definition of lymphocytes
Lymphocytes are white blood cells designed to fight infections. They are made by lymphoid organs such as bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes. They are then sent into the lymph and blood to identify the foreign cells and destroy the ones that must be. One distinguishes:

B lymphocytes, which, once mature, become plasma-producing antibodies capable of controlling bacteria, toxins and certain tumour cells (cancerous);
T lymphocytes that can remove cells from the organism that have been infected and serve to destroy viruses and cancer or abnormal cells that have escaped B lymphocytes (since they have grown within the organism itself).

Definition lymphoma: Cancer of the lymphatic system
As the name implies, lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. More generally, it is part, with leukemia, of blood cancers. It is the most common blood pathology (hemopathy). According to statistics, this is the third cancer in children. This is a very special cancer because it does not affect a specific organ but a system.

Lymphoma develops when an error occurs in the manufacture of lymphocytes, resulting in the production of abnormal cells at different stages of differentiation. These tumor cells will be able to divide faster than normal lymphocytes or live longer.

In addition, two main types of cancers of the lymphatic system are distinguished:

Hodgkin's lymphoma, or Hodgkin's disease;
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).
Note: lymphomas and lymphoid leukemias both take birth in lymphocytes; However, lymphomas result in lymph node cancer, while leukemias are cancers of the blood and bone marrow.