Lymphoma Survival Rate

Affecting the cells of the immune and lymphatic system of the human body, lymphoma is a cancer that is present as a solid tumor in the lymph nodes. The lymphatic system is responsible for transmitting the lymph fluid which contains the white blood cells referred to as lymphocytes to various parts of the body. In case of a person suffering from lymphoma, lymphocytes undergo malignant transformation and develop tumors. These can collect in the lymph nodes, overwhelming nearby tissues and depriving them of oxygen and essential nutrients.

In the advanced stages of lymphoma, the tumors can travel to other tissues and parts of the body, a process known as metastasis. Lymphomas essentially fall into any of the two major categories, Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas or NHLs. Here is a look at the two basic types of lymphoma with respect to survival rate of patients.

Lymphoma Cancer Survival Rate

Survival Rate for Hodgkin's Lymphoma

The rarer of the two types of lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma is named after the researcher Thomas Hodgkin who first diagnosed this cancer. It is characterized by a distinctive altered cancerous cell known as a Reed-Sternberg cell. Although observed in any age group, Hodgkin's lymphoma is usually observed in adolescent and young adults. Older people over the age of 50 years are also be susceptible to the disease, however. Hodgkin's disease is also believed to affect men more than women; out of the 74,490 new cases of lymphoma diagnosed in 2009, 40,630 persons were males and 33,860 were females. Although quite aggressive, this cancer is quite easily treatable and therefore, has a high survival rate.

To understand the survival rate of people afflicted with this cancer, doctors have taken the 5 year survival rate; it refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. This is excluding the likelihood of death by other disease causes. This is a standard way of discussing the prognosis of most cancers. This rate has increased dramatically from 40% in the 1960s, to more than 90% from 1999 to 2005. In fact it was the first cancerous diseases to be treated using radiation therapy and combination chemotherapy.

Survival Rate for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

This type of lymphoma refers to any strain of lymphoma which does NOT have the distinctive Reed-Sternberg cell. Around 16 different lymphoma cancer strains are usually categorized as high grade or aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Almost 90% of the new cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas that are detected are adults; the average age of the diagnosed patient is around 60 years.

The overall 5-year relative survival rate for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is 63% and the 10-year relative survival rate is 51%. Among the indolent lymphomas, the most common one is follicular lymphoma. Although it is curable in the early stages, the absence of symptoms can make it difficult to predict and treat the disease. The survival rate for follicular lymphoma is 7 - 10 years; recent advances in medical technology give a survival rate of 91% the first four years of diagnosis. The high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is considerably easier to treat than low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. An average 60% of people with high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are cured. Among them the most common form is the Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma which can be cured using chemotherapy.

Remember that these are some general statistics of the lymphoma survival rates. The rate may vary greatly based on the health of the individual, the type of lymphoma and the stage of diagnosis of the cancer.