As the name suggests, it is the cancer of lymphocytes, white blood cells of the immune system which fights against infections.
It is the most common kind of blood cancer. It is the subclass of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL).
Introduction
Introduction T-cell Lymphomas Treatment
About Disease
About T-cell Lymphomas
T-cell lymphomas arise when T-cells multiply uncontrollably and thus resulting in cancer which can spread to nearby areas as well.
It affects lymphoid tissues of skin, lymph nodes, gastrointestinal tract, and spleen. It occurs due to genetic mutations and abnormalities in the normal functioning that controls cell growth and division.
Factors causing T-cell Lymphomas
- Genetic mutations
- Abnormal T-cell development
- Immune system dysfunction
- Viral infections causing genetic instability
- Epigenetic changes
- Immune evasion mechanisms
- Chromosomal abnormalities
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Types of T-cell Lymphomas
- Peripheral T-cell Lymphomas (PTCL): It is a diverse group of aggressive lymphomas that multiply rapidly.They originate from mature T-cells and natural killer (NK) cells.
These affect mainly lymph nodes but also affect skin, bone marrow, spleen, liver, and digestive tract. It has further subdivisions. - Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL): It is a kind of cancer affecting skin by abnormal proliferation of mature T-lymphocytes. Further subtypes of CTCL are Mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary syndrome (SS).
MF causes cancer to skin and shows effects that are similar to other skin infections. While SS causes cancer that affects blood by transporting abnormal T-cells. - Anaplastic Large cell Lymphoma (ALCL): It occurs due to large abnormally shaped cells. Depending upon the type of ALCL, it has its target body part.
Systemic ALCL causes enlarged lymph nodes, which can produce symptoms like fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Cutaneous ALCL results in skin lesions or nodules. - Extranodal NK/T cell Lymphoma: A type of non-Hodgkin disease causes malignant transformation of natural killer T cells or cytotoxic T cells.
It commonly affects the upper respiratory tract including nose, upper throat, and can also impact the digestive tract. - Enteropathy-associated intestinal T-cell Lymphomma (EATL): It affects the lining of the intestine, especially the small intestine but can also spread towards the colon. Also known as Celiac disease caused by gluten present in foods like wheat, barley, and rye.
Type I EATL is associated with celiac disease which is composed of small to medium-sized T-cells, and shows symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and malabsorption.
Type II EAT is not associated with celiac disease with characteristics of large and pleomorphic T-cells. Type II is more aggressive i.e. spreads rapidly than Type I. - Angioimmunoblastic T cell Lymphoma: It affects bone marrow, spleen, liver, and lymph nodes and causes enlargement of these affected parts. Patients complain of weight loss, fever, skin rashes and multiple infections. There is a chance of recurrence of lymphoma after once treated.
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Symptoms
There are no symptoms at early stage but at later stage symptoms depend on the specific type of T-cell lymphoma one is suffering from.
In case of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
- Itching
- Patchy scaly skin
- Thick plaques
- Red itchy rash
- Changes in nails and hair
- Edema
- Enlarged lymph nodes
Other possible signs
- Bruising
- Fever or chills
- Fatigue
- Persistent left side abdominal pain
- Frequent urination
- Constipation
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Diagnosis Of T-cell Lymphomas Treatment
- Biopsy
- PET scan
- CT scan
- Blood test to calculate blood cell count
- MRI scan
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Treatment
Treatment of T-cell Lymphomas
Health care providers use different treatments for specific T-cell lymphomas. Treatment ranges from watchful waiting to stem cell (bone marrow) transplantation. Treatment may include:
- Watchful waiting/active surveillance: Some slow-growing forms of T-cell lymphoma do not cause symptoms. If this is the situation, then physicians may delay medication or other treatment.
This is watchful waiting or active monitoring. Providers carefully monitor overall health so they are ready to start treatment as soon as the patients have symptoms. - Chemotherapy: This is the main treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, including T-cell lymphomas.
- Targeted therapy: This may include monoclonal antibody therapy. This treatment uses lab-made antibodies to find and destroy specific cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy: This treatment, also called biological therapy or biotherapy, strengthens the body’s immune system. CAR-T cell therapy is an example of immunotherapy, although many healthcare providers also consider monoclonal antibodies to be a type of immunotherapy.
- Radiation therapy: This treatment includes X-rays or other types of radiation.
- Chemotherapy with stem cell transplantation: Stem cells are immature blood cells in your blood or bone marrow. In some cases, physicians may perform an autologous stem cell transplant. Less often, they can perform an allogeneic stem cell transplant.
- Cybernife Radiation Therapy: CyberKnife is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the body.
The CyberKnife delivers beams of high-dose radiation to tumors with extreme precision, offering hope to patients whose tumors were previously inoperable.
The CyberKnife treatment does not involve any incision. In fact, it is the world’s first and only robotic radiosurgery system designed to non-invasively treat tumors throughout the body.
Benefit for patients includes non-invasive, so no cut, no pain and no blood loss, it treats hard-to-reach tumors.
Including many that cannot be treated with conventional surgery, does not require anesthesia, it is performed on an outpatient basis, quick return to normal activity, effective for lesions previously treated with radiation therapy - Clinical Trials: The patient suffering from lymphoma might want to consider participating in a clinical trial.
Clinical trials are tests conducted by medical researchers to determine whether a proposed treatment is safe and effective.
In a clinical trial, you may receive a new treatment or different combinations of treatments for T-cell lymphoma.
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