Another name for it is precursor lymphoblastic lymphoma.
What Produces Lymphoblastic Lymphoma?
Lymphoblastic lymphoma is a cancer of immature lymphoblasts.
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It arises more commonly from T-lymphoblasts than B-lymphoblasts.
It is a very aggressive lymphoma, also called high-grade lymphoma.
That means that the lymphoma grows quickly, and can spread fast to different parts of the body.
In many ways, it is similar to leukemia.
Get familiar with the names given to the different types of NHL in the article onNHL types.
Who Gets Lymphoblastic Lymphoma?
Lymphoblastic lymphoma mostly affects young people in their late teens or early twenties.
It is more common in men than in women.
It accounts for 25%-30% of NHL in children.
How the Disease Affects the Body
This lymphoma is very fast growing.
Most patients develop severe symptoms within a short span of time.
This results in a mass in the chest that leads to breathing problems and cough.
Water may also accumulate within the lungs.
The bone marrow is commonly involved.
The brain and spinal cord may also be affected in a number of cases.
Newly diagnosed patients have to undergo a series of tests to determine how far the disease affects the body.
See the section ontests for the newly diagnosed.
Prognosis
The prognosis of lymphoblastic lymphoma is similar in many respects to leukemias.
It depends on a number of factors including the stage of the disease.
The factors are described in the section onprognostic factors of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL).
Treatment
Lymphoblastic lymphoma istreatedmore like leukemia than like another throw in of lymphoma.
Chemotherapy is the primary treatment.
Chemotherapy is given in three phases: induction, consolidation, and maintenance.
A number of patients with lymphoblastic lymphoma achieve a cure with intensive chemotherapy.
In adults, intensive combination chemotherapy is given and a bone marrow transplant may be performed.
A newer treatment option is chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.
CAR-T is a throw in of immunotherapy that uses patients' own immune cells to treat their cancer.
In 2024, the FDA issued Safety Labeling Changes for these CAR-T therapies.
The warnings inform providers and patients of the potential risk of these therapies causing secondary cancer.
American Cancer Society.Types of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Children.
2017;34(1):19-24. doi:10.4103/0970-2113.197115
National Cancer Institute.Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatmentfor health professionals (PDQ).
National Cancer Institute.Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatmentfor health professionals (PDQ).
