WHO Classification System
Over the years, various classification systems have been used to differentiate lymphomas including the Rappaport Classification (used until the 70's), the Working Formulation, the National Cancer Institute Working Formulation, and the Revised European-American Lymphoma Classification (REAL).
We have chosen to present the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (WHO ICD).
The WHO classification has its origins in the 1850s. The first edition, known as the International List of Causes of Death, was adopted by the International Statistical Institute in 1893. The ICD is the international standard diagnostic classification. It is used to classify diseases and other health problems recorded on many types of health and vital records including death certificates and health records. These records also provide the basis for the compilation of national mortality and morbidity statistics by WHO Member States.
The older Rappaport, Working Formulation, and REAL categories are described in a separate section for reference. This might be helpful if a patient's records state some of the older lymphoma classifications.
- Lymphocytic-histiocytic predominance
- Nodular sclerosis
- Mixed cellularity
- Lymphocytic depletion
- Other Hodgkin's disease
- Hodgkin's disease, unspecified
- Small cleaved cell, follicular
- Mixed small cleaved and large cell, follicular
- Large cell, follicular
- Other types of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, unspecified
- Nodular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma NOS
Diffuse non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Mycosis fungoides
- Sézary's disease
- T-zone lymphoma
- Lymphoepithelioid lymphoma
- Peripheral T-cell lymphoma
- Other and unspecified T-cell lymphomas
Other and unspecified types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Lymphosarcoma
- B-cell lymphoma, unspecified
- Other specified types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Malignant:
- reticuloendotheliosis
- reticulosis
- Microglioma
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, unspecified type
- Lymphoma NOS
- Malignant lymphoma NOS
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma NOS
Malignant immunoproliferative diseases
- Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia
- Alpha heavy chain disease
- Gamma heavy chain disease
- Immunoproliferative small intestinal disease
- Other malignant immunoproliferative diseases
- Malignant immunoproliferative disease, unspecified
- Immunoproliferative disease NOS
Multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms
- Multiple myeloma
- Kahler's disease
- Myelomatosis
- Excludes: solitary myeloma
- Plasma cell leukaemia
- Plasmacytoma, extramedullary
- Malignant plasma cell tumour NOS
- Plasmacytoma NOS
- Solitary myeloma
Lymphoid leukemia
- Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
- Excludes: acute exacerbation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
- Subacute lymphocytic leukemia
- Prolymphocytic leukemia
- Hairy-cell leukaemia
- Leukaemic reticuloendotheliosis
- Adult T-cell leukaemia
- Other lymphoid leukemia
- Lymphoid leukaemia , unspecified
Myeloid leukaemia
- Includes: leukemia :
- Acute myeloid leukaemia
- Excludes: acute exacerbation of chronic myeloid leukaemia
- Chronic myeloid leukemia
- Subacute myeloid leukemia
- Myeloid sarcoma
- Chloroma
- Granulocytic sarcoma
- Acute promyelocytic leukaemia
- Acute myelomonocytic leukaemia
- Other myeloid leukaemia
- Myeloid leukaemia , unspecified
Monocytic leukemia
- Includes: monocytoid leukemia
- Acute monocytic leukemia
- Excludes: acute exacerbation of chronic monocytic leukemia
- Chronic monocytic leukemia
- Subacute monocytic leukemia
- Other monocytic leukemia
- Monocytic leukemia , unspecified
Other leukaemias of specified cell type
- Acute erythraemia and erythroleukaemia
- Acute erythraemic myelosis
- Di Guglielmo's disease
- Chronic erythraemia
- Heilmeyer-Schöner disease
- Acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia
- leukaemia :
- megakaryoblastic (acute)
- megakaryocytic (acute)
- Mast cell leukaemia
- Acute panmyelosis
- Acute myelofibrosis
- Other specified leukaemia s
- Lymphosarcoma cell leukaemia
leukaemia of unspecified cell type
- Acute leukaemia of unspecified cell type
- Blast cell leukaemia
- Stem cell leukaemia
- Chronic leukaemia of unspecified cell type
- Subacute leukaemia of unspecified cell type
- Other leukaemia of unspecified cell type
- leukaemia , unspecified
Other and unspecified malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue
- Letterer-Siwe disease
- Nonlipid:
- reticuloendotheliosis
- reticulosis
- Malignant histiocytosis
- Histiocytic medullary reticulosis
- Malignant mast cell tumour
- Malignant:
- Mast cell sarcoma
- Excludes: mast cell leukaemia
- mastocytosis (cutaneous)
- True histiocytic lymphoma
- Other specified malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue
- Malignant neoplasm of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue, unspecified
Dive Deeper
Other Lymphomas not included in WHO classification
Lymphomas by Location
Video
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Information Pages:
For more information on Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma:
For more information on Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Disease):
