Extranodal NK or T Cell Lymphoma - Nasal

Extranodal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma is a cancer of the natural killer cells and/or T-cells found in the nasal cavity. This aggressive cancer is rare in the United States and affects mostly those of Asian or Latin American decent. Tumors usually occur in the naval cavity, though involvement of the skin, kidneys, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and respiratory tract is not uncommon.

It is usually associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (mononucleosis). "Extranodal" denotes that it is found outside of the lymph nodes.

Diagnosis and Staging

Patients usually present with nose bleeds, nasal masses, or damage to the nose. If the disease has spread to other areas of the body, skin ulcers or GI perforation may also be symptoms. Diagnosis is made via biopsy. Staging is done with other tests, such as X-rays, PET scans, CT scans, and ultrasounds. Because the disease is extremely rare, there is no defined staging system in place.

Treatment

Treatments are currently being researched. New clinical trials are usually underway, so patients and doctors should consult the latest scientific literature to discover the most up-to-date treatment regimens. Common treatments include:

  • Chemotherapy using the CHOP regimen
  • Radiation used in combination with chemotherapy
  • Bone marrow/stem cell transplants are being researched as a treatment for extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma

Other Lymphoma Pages

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...

Radiation Therapy Topics

...

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...

Sitemap