DOHA: Almost 10 percent of childhood cancers diagnosed at Hamad General Hospital (HGH)’s Paediatric Haematology and Oncology unit have lymphoma, a common type of cancer among children, according to a senior health expert. Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has highlighted the importance of early detection and treatment of lymphoma in children.
Lymphoma develops in certain cells of the immune system known as lymphocytes. The cancer may start from the bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils, thymus or other lymphatic tissues as well as the lymph vessels that connect them. There are two main categories of lymphoma: Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The type of abnormal cells identified in a biopsy sample determines what type of lymphoma is present in a patient.
“About 10 percent of all childhood cancers diagnosed in HGH’s Paediatric Haematology and Oncology unit involve lymphoma, with the number of cases evenly distributed between the two main types of lymphoma,” said Dr Mohamed Kesudeen, Fellow at Paediatric Haematology and Oncology at HGH, on the occasion of World Lymphoma Awareness Day, which is observed globally to raise awareness about the disease.
Dr Kesudeen advised parents to seek professional medical advice when they notice symptoms in their children such as unexplained swelling on the neck, underarm or groin; weight loss, fever, night sweats, weakness, chest pain or trouble breathing, and abdominal swelling. At an advanced stage, lymphoma may present with high fever and weight loss.
“The mainstay of therapy for both types of lymphoma is chemotherapy, and 90 to 95 percent of patients are expected to be cured when Hodgkin lymphoma is diagnosed and treated at an early stage,” said Dr Kesudeen. “When the Hodgkin lymphoma is diagnosed at an advanced stage, the cure rate is at 80-85 percent. However, the patient may need significant chemotherapy and probably radiotherapy as well.”
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, on the other hand, has a cure rate of 90-100 percent when the disease is diagnosed at an early stage, which is higher than the 70-90 percent when the disease is diagnosed at an advanced stage. “Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a more aggressive tumor that quickly develops and spreads to other areas of the body,” he said.
“In accordance with highly advanced protocols, we now use Positron Emission Tomography or PET scanning to determine, after chemotherapy, whether a patient has remaining cancer and needs radiotherapy as further treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma. This is to avoid unnecessary radiotherapy, as the radiation used in this treatment can cause side effects such as reduced bone growth, and can increase the risk of secondary cancer in the long term,” Dr Kesudeen said.
The Peninsula
