One type of lymphoma, not as common as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is Hodgkin’s disease or Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is characterized by malignant growths of cells in the lymphoid system. Thomas Hodgkin, who discovered this disease in 1832, was an English scholar who worked at Guy’s Hospital in England.

Since the discovery of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a great deal of research has been done on this disease, which has contributed to the large body of literature on the subject. This research provides vital information for understanding the disease, its symptoms, and its treatment. Below is some of the information that has been produced by medical research on the disease.

Characteristics of the disease

What distinguishes Hodgkin’s disease from other lymphomas is the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells in the area where the cancer has developed. Most studies show that the origin of these cells are B cells. In other cases of the disease, the Epstein-Barr virus has been shown to be a factor in the development of cancer. The disease can occur in both children and adults, and among them, a higher incidence of the disease has been found among young adults between the ages of twenty-five and thirty and among those who are fifty-five years of age or older. As with other lymphomas, symptoms of this disease include a compromised immune system, resulting in a higher incidence of infections.

Treatment

Treatment of this disease also includes some of the common modes of treatment used to treat other lymphomas. The most widely used among these is chemotherapy, which involves the administration of powerful drugs that target the cells that cause cancer. Another common type of treatment is radiation therapy, where a beam of radiation is directed at a localized area where there is a concentration of cancer cells. For advanced cases, a bone marrow transplant is done to boost the body’s immune system.

Hodgkin’s disease is also considered one of the most serious types of cancer because it can have serious effects on the body of the person who develops the disease. Fortunately, the extensive research done on Hodgkin’s disease has paved the way for the development of new and more effective treatments to combat the disease. As a consequence, the survival rates of people with this disease have increased in recent years.