Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a type of cancer. Lymphoma is a general term for cancers that develop in the lymphatic system. Hodgkin's disease is one type of lymphoma. All other lymphomas are grouped together and are called non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Lymphomas account for about 5 percent of all cases of cancer in the United States.

Clinical trials

Many people with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma take part in clinical trials (research studies). Doctors conduct clinical trials to learn about the effectiveness and side effects of new treatments. In some trials, all patients receive the new treatment. In others, doctors compare different therapies by giving the new treatment to one group of patients and the standard therapy to another group; or they may compare one standard treatment with another. Research like this has led to significant advances in the treatment of cancer. Each achievement brings researchers closer to the eventual control of cancer.

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Doctors are studying radiation therapy, new ways of giving chemotherapy, new anticancer drugs and drug combinations, biological therapies, bone marrow transplantation, peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, and new ways of combining various types of treatment. Some studies are designed to find ways to reduce the side effects of treatment and to improve the patient's quality of life.

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