The 2 main types of lymphoma are: Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hodgkin lymphoma is divided into:
- classical Hodgkin lymphoma – this makes up about 95% of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma in developed countries and has 4 subtypes
- nodular sclerosis (the most common type)
- mixed cellularity
- lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin lymphoma
- lymphocyte-rich Hodgkin lymphoma
- nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma.
Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are divided into numerous types, based on how the lymphoma cells look under a microscope and other properties of the cells. They include:
- B-cell lymphomas, which start in B lymphocytes (white blood cells that produce antibodies); these lymphomas are more common in Australia and include
- diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (the most common type)
- follicular lymphoma
- chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma
- mantle cell lymphoma
- marginal zone B-cell lymphomas
- Burkitt lymphomas
- lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (Waldenstrom macroglobulinaemia)
- hairy cell leukaemia (this is sometimes considered to be a type of lymphoma)
- primary central nervous system lymphoma
- T-cell lymphomas, which start in T lymphocytes (white blood cells that play various roles in attacking foreign cells as part of the immune system); these lymphomas include
- precursor T-lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukaemia
- peripheral T-cell lymphomas – these include most types of skin (cutaneous) lymphomas, although some skin lymphomas are B-cell lymphomas.
Some of these types of lymphomas are divided into further subtypes.
In children, the most common types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma are:
- lymphoblastic lymphoma
- Burkitt lymphoma
- diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
- anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
- American Cancer Society. Hodgkin disease http://www.cancer.org/cancer/hodgkindisease/index.
- National Cancer Institute (2014). Adult Hodgkin lymphoma treatment (PDQ®) http://www.cancer.gov/types/lymphoma/patient/adult-hodgkin-treatment-pdq, patient version.
- American Cancer Society. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma http://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkinlymphoma/index.
- Leukaemia Foundation Australia. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) http://www.leukaemia.org.au/blood-cancers/lymphomas/non-hodgkin-lymphoma-nhl.
- American Cancer Society. Lymphoma of the skin http://www.cancer.org/cancer/lymphomaoftheskin/index.
- American Cancer Society. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children http://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkinlymphomainchildren/index.
- National Cancer Institute (2015). Childhood non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment (PDQ®) http://www.cancer.gov/types/lymphoma/patient/child-nhl-treatment-pdq, patient version.