Groundbreaking Lymphoma Treatments May Bring Great Change

While this technically may not be a treatment per se, scientists have recently created new methods of determining how changes in DNA can predict when normal lymphocytes turn into lymphoma cells. This gives scientists a better idea of how lymphoma can come about and makes it easier for them to determine if patients are at a higher risk of developing a form of lymphoma.

The advances in the knowledge of lymphoma at the genetic level could lead to many incredible new treatment and diagnosis methods in the future. Scientists are now able to easily detect lymphoma in a biopsy sample, ensuring that they do not have as many false negative diagnoses (saying someone doesn't have lymphoma when they actually do). Doctors can also now easily discern which of the many types of lymphoma a patient has. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma alone has over 20 different variations, and knowing which variation a patient has is crucial in creating the right recovery plan for them. Doctors can also now determine if a lymphoma is likely to grow and spread, which helps them know how quickly they need to begin treatments if it is going to spread rapidly.