Lymphoma of the mediastinum - what is it? Symptoms, Diagnosis

Unfortunately, due to the deterioration in the ecological situation of cancer patients, it is becoming more every day. There are a lot of malignant tumors . They are able to develop in different organs, disrupting their normal functioning. In medicine there is such a thing as mediastinum. It unites all the organs that are located in the chest. Recently, a fairly frequent oncological disease is lymphoma of the mediastinum. What is this neoplasm? What are the causes of its occurrence, symptomatology and prognosis?

Like all cancer tumors, lymphoma is divided into certain types, has several stages of development. Depending on the severity of the lesion, doctors develop a special treatment technique. The general forecasts, unfortunately, are not at all comforting - it all depends on the timely diagnosis of lymphoma. The sooner a diagnosis is made, the better the chances of recovery. The state of remission in patients can last from 2 years or more. However, one must understand that at this time the disease does not go away, therefore it is recommended that all the prescriptions of the attending physician be performed exactly to minimize the risk of recurrence of relapses.

Lymphoma of the mediastinum: what is it?

Of course, it is very difficult for an ordinary person to understand medical terminology, so let's try to explain everything in plain language.

Lymphoma is a cancerous tumor that has a malignant form. It develops in the lymphatic system, because of this, the lesion can be localized anywhere. In this case, the tumor of the mediastinum affects the organs, whose border on one side is the thorax, on the other - the spine.

This disease is characterized by uncontrolled cell division. After mutation, they become immortal, which leads to their accumulation and formation of a tumor. Since the lymphatic system consists of a multitude of glands and vessels that are associated with all organs, the neoplasm, rapidly developing, freely spreads throughout the body, while forming new focal centers.

When untimely treatment in a medical institution patient is waiting for death. When certain symptoms are detected, the patient is prescribed a number of tests and conducts a survey, during which the most commonly used computed tomography.

It is worth noting that even after confirmation of the diagnosis, in no case should you give up and stop fighting for life.

Classification

The names of cancer tumors, as a rule, are of a general nature. Each of them is divided into several types and groups. First of all, primary and secondary tumors are isolated. The first type of neoplasm develops from the tissues of the organ, the second includes metastases.

Let's try to understand the diagnosis of "Lymphoma of the mediastinum". What does this mean? This kind of cancer is also called lymphadenopathy. The division into groups occurs according to the type of tissue from which it was formed. It can be thymus gland, heart, pleura and so on.

Symptomatic of the disease

Symptoms of mediastinal lymphoma are similar in many respects to other types of malignant tumors. It is weakness, fast fatigue, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath. However, there are also symptoms that are characteristic only of this disease. First of all, this appearance of swelling in the places where there are lymph nodes: under the cheekbones (on the neck), in the groin, under the armpits or on the stomach. Such swelling is not accompanied by painful sensations.

Symptoms of mediastinal lymphoma are often expressed by a sharp decrease in weight. Since the lymphatic system protects the body from various infections, a malfunction in its work can lead to insignificant temperature rises of 37-37.5 degrees. In many patients at night, there is a profuse sweating.

Important Factors

In the fight against lymphoma, the following factors affect the positive result:

• Age category of patients. The older the person, the more complications he has in the process of treatment.
• The stage of lymphoma of the mediastinum, on which the disease was found.
• The size of the tumor and its location.
• Stability of the immune system.
• The number of lesions metastases.

Observing the dynamics of the disease for 10 years, the scientists concluded that the large-celled lymphoma found in the early stages gives a 90% chance of survival, but with the development of metastases, this rate drops sharply to 20%.

In the risk group there are people not only of middle age, but also those who have suffered other kinds of oncological diseases, in particular, the use of chemotherapy. Lymphoma is also most commonly diagnosed in those who are in close contact with various harmful substances, for example, pesticides.

Diagnosis

The positive result of treatment depends not only on the timely detection of the tumor, but also on the competent determination of its type. Only then can we talk about medication.

Suspicion of lymphoma may occur in the doctor on a preventive examination. In this case, the specialist appoints an additional examination. At the moment, the most effective is computed tomography. Thanks to it you can carefully study the tumor, see inflammation foci. It is also recommended to make a biopsy. This procedure will allow to determine the type of lymphoma with 100% accuracy.

If the suspicions of doctors are confirmed, then you need to give a puncture of the spinal cord. This analysis will show how widespread the disease is. It is also recommended radiography of lungs, scintigraphy and ultrasound of the abdominal cavity.

An obligatory condition for the diagnosis is the delivery of a detailed blood test. By the amount of its lactate dehydrogenase content, doctors determine the degree of progressive development of the tumor.

Stages of lymphoma

All cancer diseases are divided into stages that characterize the degree of development of the tumor and its features. This classification is generally accepted terminology of the ongoing process. The first two are local, the others are common. If the disease occurs without symptoms, then the letter A is added to the number, with fever, weight loss, sweating - B.

Stages of lymphoma:

• The first stage (I) is the defeat of only one area of the lymph nodes.
• The second stage of mediastinal lymphoma (II) - extends to other areas, but is limited to only one side of the diaphragm.
• The third stage (III) - localization increases, both sides of the diaphragm are involved.
• The fourth stage (IV) is the spread of metastases throughout the body. "X" is added to the figure in case of mass lesion of the lymph nodes.

Methods of modern treatment

Fortunately, studies of cancer tumors do not stand still. Scientists from all over the world unite their knowledge to find the most effective ways to combat these tumors. Lymphoma of the mediastinum (treatment described below) is a very serious disease that can lead to death.

Therefore, after confirming the diagnosis, in no case should you neglect the doctor's recommendations. So, we will study ways of fighting with lymphoma.

Chemotherapy

The most common method that is used to treat cancer is chemotherapy. Apply medical products such as Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Dakarbazin and others. These medications are a kind of poison that kills cancer cells. However, such treatment has many side effects, since the destruction of the tumor occurs not locally, but massively, so there is a big risk of disrupting the work of healthy organs. The results of such treatment largely depend on the immune system and its resilience. If the body is strong, the chances of recovery are significantly increased.

The advantage of chemotherapy is the impact on all lesions, even on those that have not been diagnosed. If the tumor of the mediastinum is diagnosed in stage IV, then there are no other methods of treatment.

CRT

Electron-beam therapy used in the treatment of lymphoma became one of the first. Now it is often combined with chemotherapy. This type of treatment is prescribed with an accurate definition of the stage of the disease and the location of the focus. As a rule, even with a progressing tumor, irradiation is prescribed no more than 4 times a week, the dosage does not exceed 6 grams. The advantage of this treatment is penetration of the rays under the skin to a depth of up to 20 mm.

It is worth noting that it is impossible to achieve such results in other ways. However, CRT has side effects:

• Atrophy of the skin;
• Full or partial hair loss;
• Dry skin;
• Strong inflammatory processes (dermatitis).

One-time irradiation course during electro-radiotherapy should not exceed 40 grays.

Biological therapy

This method is the most sparing. For the development of drugs, certain cells of the patient are taken. Such treatment allows to increase the resistance of the organism to the maximum and at the same time activate its protective reaction. This method is currently most effective in combating malignant tumors, such as lymphoma. A blood test or ultrasound can accurately determine the weak spots in the patient's body.

The main advantage of biological therapy is that blood vessels cease to form in the tumor, which is its main source of nutrition.

Bone marrow transplantation

This method of treatment is quite effective, however, the very process of preparation with subsequent rehabilitation for a time gap is very large. It is worth noting that not all clinics are engaged in bone marrow transplantation, so this procedure is quite expensive. Also, during the preparation, active chemotherapy is used to destroy all cancer cells.

Surgery

Surgery of the mediastinal lymphoma - what is it? The surgical method is used extremely rarely. It is not essential and can be used in conjunction with other medications. Surgical intervention is possible only in the early stages, since after the spread of metastases this method becomes ineffective. As a rule, it is used when it is necessary to take tumor cells for their research (biopsy).

T-lymphoma

According to the degree of malignancy, t-cell lymphomas are divided into low, medium and high.

Causes of occurrence:

• The effect of T-cell leukemia (HTLV-1);
• A malfunction of the immune system;
• heredity;
• Pathology of cells at the level of DNA.

Stages of development of t-lymphoma:

• ІА - there are insignificant spots on skin integuments.
• ІІВ - the number of affected areas becomes larger, but without enlarging the lymph nodes.
• ІІА - swelling is formed.
• III - the inflammatory processes on skin integuments are manifested.
• IV - a cancerous tumor extends to internal organs.

Prognosis of mediastinal lymphoma

To make unambiguous conclusions with such a disease as mediastinal lymphoma (prognosis of treatment and survival) is almost impossible, since many things depend on different factors here. For example:

• Individuality of the organism;
• age;
• Stage of the disease;
• Degree of injury;
• The state of the immune system.

A reliable fact is that with non-aggressive forms of the disease, almost 90% of patients recover, but when the lymphoma is at the IV stage, there is practically no chance to introduce the disease into remission.