Hodgkin Lymphoma Subtypes
Most people diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma have one of the two main kinds of the disease, called subtypes:
- classic Hodgkin lymphoma
- nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma
The subtypes have been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). It's important to know your subtype since it plays a large part in determining the type of treatment you'll receive.
Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma
About 95 percent of people with Hodgkin lymphoma have the classic subtype. Classic Hodgkin lymphoma is further divided into four distinct subtypes shown in the table below.
Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma Subtypes
Subtype |
Characteristics |
| Nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma |
|
| Mixed cellularity Hodgkin lymphoma |
|
| Lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin lymphoma |
|
|
Lymphocyte-rich classic Hodgkin lymphoma |
|
Nodular Lymphocyte-Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma
The nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) subtype affects about 5 percent of patients, mostly young men. NLPHL is identified by certain factors:
- NLPHL cells are "lymphocytic" and "histolytic" cells - different from the classic Reed-Sternberg cells that signal classic Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Patients don't always have symptoms.
- NLPHL is slow growing (indolent), and the chances of long-term survival are good.
- There's a 3 percent risk that NLPHL will transform into non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- NLPHL treatment is usually different from standard first-line therapy for classic Hodgkin lymphoma
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