Diagnosis and Treatment of Lymphoma

Lymphomas are cancers of the immune system. They represent the uncontrolled growth of a clone of cells which, in each case, are all derived for one original lymphocyte. There are two main classes of lymphomas: Hodgkin’s disease, which is quite rare, and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Children's Lymphoma

Specialists at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford provide a range of services for children with lymphoma.

Stanford: A Center of Lymphoma Excellence

For over 40 years, a multidisciplinary team of physicians and researchers at Stanford have undertaken a vast effort to improve treatment for lymphoma patients and to find a cure for this disease. The collaboration has included faculty from the Medicine, Pathology, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Health & Research Policy, Dermatology, Psychiatry, Genetics, and BiochemistryDepartments.

This dedicated core of individuals has pioneered the real advances that are available to patients today and that are outlined below. Physicians in our Lymphoma Program are routinely awarded and recognized for their contributions to the field and this year will be specifically profiled in US News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” issue. As a recognized center of excellence, we routinely treat thousands of lymphoma patients each year.

By coming to the Stanford Cancer Center for your lymphoma treatment, you have access to some treatment advances that are available nowhere else. You will truly receive the best care in the world.

Rituxan: A Revolution in Lymphoma Treatment, Discovered at Stanford
The development of the monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody rituximab has changed the treatment of lymphoma world wide. Stanford Cancer Center physicians and researchers discovered the therapeutic effects of this antibody and have been instrumental in developing its many applications.

Some of the earliest trials of rituximab were carried out by Cancer Center physicians, meaning that their patients had early access to this groundbreaking treatment.

Continuing Innovation
Cancer Center innovators don’t rest on their laurels. Today, just one of their many innovative avenues of research and clinical trials includes developing a vaccine to treat lymphoma that is customized for each patient by basing the vaccine on the unique signature of each lymphoma tumor.

Genetics
Stanford researchers were some of the earliest pioneers in sequencing the human genome and developing methods to more rapidly identify genetic differences between people with different diseases.

Today, our doctors continue to lead the field and apply this technology to cancer. For example, researchers at the Cancer Center have identified a set of six genes that may predict response to treatment in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This finding could result in the first gene-based screen to identify people who need the most aggressive therapy.

When you are treated by physicians at the Cancer Center, you may have access to this kind of predictive genetic screening through ongoing clinical studies in both DLBCL and follicular lymphoma.