Thymic Lymphoma
This entry looks at thymic lymphoma, better known as primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, one of the subtypes of lymphoma. 'Lymphoma' is an umbrella term that loosely refers to several dozen independent categorical types and subtypes of cancers of the lymphatic system.
What is the Thymus?
The thymus is a small organ located below the neck and just above the heart. It is one of two primary organs in the lymphatic system, along with the bone marrow. The purpose of the thymus is to generate T-cells to distribute throughout the body to fight against infections. Curiously, it reaches its maximum size at puberty and then begins to shrink—both physically as well as in output—as we age, eventually being overtaken in our elderly years by fatty tissue.
What is Thymic Lymphoma?
When cancer develops here it will be classified in one of two ways: if the cancer is in the cells that constitute the outer covering of the thymus, that is called thymoma or thymic carcinoma (carcinomas refer to cancers of epithelial cells in surrounding tissue, as opposed to connective tissue). If cancer develops from the lymphocytes in the thymus, it is thymic lymphoma.
Since the thymus is located in an area of the body referred to as the mediastinum, it is often called primary mediastinal lymphoma.
What are Some Symptoms of Thymic Lymphoma?
Similar to other lymphomas, the symptoms associated with thymic lymphoma are non-specific and can be interpreted to be many different things. They are:
- Painless, swollen lymph nodes
- Fevers
- Unexplained weight loss
- Respiratory problems (coughing, chest pain, breathlessness
- Swelling in the neck, arms or face (caused by superior vena cava obstructions
Treatment and Prognosis of Thymic Lymphoma
Because this cancer is so rare, the optimal treatment for thymic lymphoma remains in dispute. However, this is a very aggressive form of lymphoma, and induction therapy is crucial as soon as possible. Various combination chemotherapy regimens have been tested against this lymphoma, all with varying results. They are sometimes followed up by radiotherapy, and in severe cases, with stem cell transplantation.
Sources
Macmillan Cancer Support, Mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma
Johnson PW, Davies AJ. Primary Mediastinal B-cell lymphoma Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2008:349-58.
More Articles
More Articles
Amazon.com is pleased to have the Lymphoma Information Network in the family of Amazon.com associates. We've agreed to ship items...
The question ought to be what are myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), since this is a group of similar blood and bone marrow diseases that...
Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) is a very rare and aggressive skin cancer that usually develops when a person is in his or her 70s. It is...
At some point, the Seattle biotech company Cell Therapeutics Inc (CTI) should earn an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for utter and...
Site Beginnings
This site was started as Lymphoma Resource Page(s) in 1994. The site was designed to collect lymphoma...
Three papers appearing in the journal Blood and pointing towards a regulator-suppressor pill could offer hope to blood cancer...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a third so-called Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the investigational oral...
The US Food and Drug Administration today has approved an expanded use of Imbruvica (ibrutinib) in patients with...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it has granted "Breakthrough Therapy Designation" for the investigational agent...
According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team from the University of California, San...
Pharmacyclics has announced that the company has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for...
New research suggests that frontline radioimmunotherapy...
Gilead Sciences has announced results of the company's Phase II study of its investigational compound idelalisib, an oral inhibitor of...
