Why Choose Us for Your Lymphoma Treatment
Huntsman Cancer Institute is nationally recognized as a leader in the research and treatment of lymphomas, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Our Hematologic Cancers Care Team focuses on understanding the biology of all lymphoid cancers, and we offer a wide range of cutting-edge treatments for patients, including immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and cellular therapies.
Patients benefit from a collaborative approach to care, with a multidisciplinary team that includes medical oncologists, hematologists, radiation oncologists, and hematopathologists. This ensures comprehensive and personalized treatment plans tailored to each patient's unique needs.
Specialized Treatment
We offer a comprehensive array of specialized treatments for lymphoma patients, tailored to address the unique characteristics of each subtype. Key treatments include the following:
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy employs drugs to destroy cancer cells or inhibit their proliferation. Our chemotherapy regimens are customized based on the specific type and stage of lymphoma, ensuring optimal effectiveness.
Radiation Therapy
This treatment uses high-energy radiation to target and eliminate cancer cells. Our advanced radiation techniques focus on minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissues, thereby reducing potential side effects.
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapies are designed to interfere with specific molecules involved in cancer cell growth and survival. We utilize targeted agents such as Bruton鈥檚 tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which have demonstrated effectiveness in treating certain lymphoma subtypes and CLL.
Stem Cell Transplantation
For select patients, we also offer stem cell transplantation, which involves replacing diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells to restore normal blood cell production. This procedure can be autologous (using the patient's own cells) or allogeneic (using donor cells), depending on individual circumstances.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy enhances the body's immune system to recognize and combat cancer cells. We offer various immunotherapeutic approaches, including the following:
- Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell (CAR T cell) Therapy: This innovative treatment involves modifying a patient's own T cells to recognize and attack lymphoma cells. Our CAR T cell therapies have shown efficacy in treating certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Monoclonal Antibodies: These laboratory-produced molecules can bind to specific targets on cancer cells, marking them for destruction by the immune system. Examples include rituximab and obinutuzumab, which target the CD20 protein on B cell lymphomas.
- Bispecific Antibodies
Our Expertise
We are a leading center for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of lymphomas and CLL. Our multidisciplinary team includes specialists with expertise in various lymphoma subtypes, and our Hematological Malignancies and Hematology Center has a wide variety of clinical trials for lymphoma and CLL patients focused on developing innovative treatments, exploring new therapy combinations, and identifying novel therapeutic targets, all with the hope of improving outcomes for patients with lymphoid malignancies.
Patient Care Philosophy
We believe no one should face cancer alone. Our dedicated and world-renowned doctors, nurses, and medical staff are at the forefront of patient-centered care. We treat the whole person, not just their cancer.
Each day, our medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists work together across disciplines to create and coordinate treatment plans for every patient. We understand cancer is a complex disease. That is why we use a team approach that includes social workers and support groups, as well as wellness and integrative health services such as acupuncture, massage, creative arts, and more.
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Lymphoma Cancer Research
Our research group at Huntsman Cancer Institute is committed to conducting groundbreaking clinical research that will benefit our patients and change the treatment landscape for lymphoma and CLL. We actively conduct clinical trials to explore novel treatments for lymphoma and CLL and have led more than 50 Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials. Our work has contributed to the development and FDA approval of targeted therapies, bispecific antibodies, novel therapy combinations and CAR T-cell therapies for lymphoma and CLL patients.
Clinical trials aid in the discovery of new innovative therapies that aim to be more efficacious with potentially less toxicities than previously approved treatments. Many patients in the past participated in clinical trials that have led to the currently available treatments we will be discussing with you and what we consider our 鈥渟tandards of care.鈥 However, the clinical trials your lymphoma/CLL team currently have available aim to improve and add to the standard of care. If you are interested in hearing more about what clinical trials may be available to you, please ask your lymphoma/CLL team.
Clinical Trials
Make an Appointment with a Lymphoma Specialist
To make an appointment with a lymphoma specialist, fill out our appointment form or call 801-587-7000. Our team will determine if your insurance covers treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute or if you need a referral from a primary care doctor.
External providers can refer a patient using the online referral form or by calling 801-587-7000 to speak to a patient registration specialist.
Lymphoma Basics
The lymphatic system includes lymph nodes, the spleen, thymus gland, and bone marrow. Lymphomas primarily affect a type of white blood cell known as lymphocytes, which help the body fight infections.
Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are the two main types of lymphomas.
Hodgkin Lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma is a disease where cancer cells form in the lymph system and is identified by the presence of Hodgkin lymphoma cancer cells called Reed-Sternberg cells. There are two types of adult Hodgkin lymphoma: classical and nodular lymphocyte-predominant.
These are signs of Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Painless swelling in the neck, underarm, or groin
- Night sweats
- Fever for no known reason
- Weakness or tiredness
- Weight loss for no known reason
- Itchy skin
Many other health problems can also cause these signs. If you have any of these signs, see your doctor as soon as possible.
Learn more from the .
Anything that increases your chance of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean you are sure to get cancer. It means your chances are higher than the average person鈥檚. Talk with your doctor to learn more about your cancer risk.
- Being male
- Being in young or late adulthood
- Having a parent or sibling with Hodgkin lymphoma
- Being infected with Epstein-Barr virus
- Physical exam and history: A health care provider examines your body for signs of disease. Your personal health habits, past illnesses, and symptoms help guide the exam.
- Laboratory tests: By testing body tissues, blood, urine, or other substances in the body, your health care team can check to see how the organs are functioning. They also look for abnormal amounts of blood cells.
- Lymph node biopsy: The health care provider removes part or all of a lymph node to look for abnormal cells under a microscope.
Cancer stages show whether cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Cancer spreads in the body in three ways: through tissue, the lymph system, or the blood. The staging designations presented below are applicable to most lymphomas. However, not all lymphoid cancers, such as CLL, utilize the traditional lymphoma staging designations.
These are the stages used for Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Stage 1, 1E
- Stage 2, 2E
- Stage 3, 3E, 3S, 3E,S
- Stage 4
These are descriptions used with the stages of Hodgkin lymphoma:
- B: You have fever, weight loss, or night sweats.
- A: You don鈥檛 have the 鈥淏鈥 symptoms.
- E: Cancer is in an organ or tissue that is not part of the lymph system.
- S: Cancer is in the spleen.
When cancer spreads from where it started to another part of the body, it is called metastasis. These metastatic cancer cells are the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if Hodgkin lymphoma spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are actually Hodgkin lymphoma cells. The disease is metastatic Hodgkin lymphoma, not liver cancer.
Learn more from the .
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a disease where cancer cells form in the lymph system, and unlike Hodgkin lymphoma, Reed-Sternberg cells are not present. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can begin in cells called B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, or natural killer cells.
There are many types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Each requires its own type of treatment. These are subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
- Follicular lymphoma
- Mantle cell lymphoma
- Marginal zone lymphoma
- Primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma
- T cell lymphoma
- Plasmablastic lymphoma
Indolent Lymphomas
The word indolent means 鈥渃ausing little or no pain,鈥 or slow to develop, progress, or heal. Indolent lymphomas are often diagnosed without any presenting symptoms, usually when patients come in for their routine yearly physical and abnormalities are noted on the physical exam (i.e., swollen lymph nodes) or on blood work. Given the usually slow growing nature of the disease, many patients upon initial diagnosis are offered observation without any treatment and their lymphomas may be monitored for many months to years.
The two most common types of indolent lymphoid cancers include follicular lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Aggressive Lymphomas
These lymphomas tend to develop quickly, within a matter of weeks to months, and are usually accompanied by a multitude of symptoms. While aggressive lymphomas may present with a myriad of symptoms, the most discussed ones are known as 鈥淏 symptoms,鈥 which includes daily recurring fevers, drenching night sweats, and unintentional weight loss. Many of these symptoms are non-specific, and other conditions such as infection and autoimmune diseases may also cause similar symptoms. Unlike indolent lymphomas, most patients are offered treatments for their aggressive lymphomas right away, mostly to help alleviate the symptoms the patients are experiencing.
The most common types of aggressive lymphomas include Hodgkin lymphoma, diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), high grade B cell lymphoma (HGBCL), and peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL).
These are signs of non-Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Swelling in the neck, underarm, groin, or stomach
- Night sweats
- Fever for no known reason
- Weakness or tiredness
- Weight loss for no known reason
- Itchy skin or rash
- Unexplained pain in the chest, abdomen, or bones
Many other health problems can also cause these signs. If you have any of these signs, see your doctor as soon as possible.
Learn more from the .
Anything that increases your chance of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean you are sure to get cancer. It means your chances are higher than the average person鈥檚. Talk with your doctor to learn more about your cancer risk.
- Being male
- Being white
- Increasing age
- Having an inherited immune disorder
- Having an autoimmune disease
- Being infected with HIV, human T-lymphotropic virus type I, Epstein-Barr virus, or Helicobacter pylor
- Taking immunosuppressant drugs after an organ transplant
Learn more about ways to prevent cancer and about family history and genetic counseling.
- Physical exam and history: A health care provider examines your body for signs of disease. Your personal health habits, past illnesses, and symptoms help guide the exam.
- Laboratory tests: By testing body tissues, blood, urine, or other substances in the body, your health care team can check to see how the organs are functioning. They also look for abnormal amounts of blood cells.
- Bone marrow biopsy: The health care provider removes a small sample of bone marrow to look for abnormal cells under a microscope. This procedure is not required for all patients.
- Lymph node biopsy: The health care provider removes part or all of a lymph node to look for abnormal cells under a microscope.
Cancer stages show whether cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Cancer spreads in the body in three ways: through tissue, the lymph system, or the blood. The staging designations presented below are applicable to most lymphomas. However, not all lymphoid cancers, such as CLL, utilize the traditional lymphoma staging designations.
These are the stages used for non-Hodgkin lymphoma:
- Stage 1, 1E
- Stage 2, 2E
- Stage 3, 3E, 3S, 3E+S
- Stage 4
Here are explanations for the E and S labels of these stages:
- E (Extranodal): This means the cancer is outside the lymph system.
- S (Spleen): This means that the cancer is in the spleen.
When cancer spreads from where it started to another part of the body, it is called metastasis. These metastatic cancer cells are the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if non-Hodgkin lymphoma spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells. The disease is metastatic non-Hodgkin lymphoma, not liver cancer.
Learn more from the .
