Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL, Hodgkin's disease), described by Thomas Hodgkin in 1832, was the first form of lymphoma described and defined. Other forms were later described and there was a need to classify them. Because Hodgkin's lymphoma was much more radiation-sensitive than other forms, its diagnosis was important for oncologists and their patients. Thus, research originally focused on it. The first classification of Hodgkin's Lymphoma was proposed by Robert J. Lukes in 1963.
While consensus was rapidly reached on the classification of Hodgkin's lymphoma, there remained a large group of very different diseases requiring further classification. The Rappaport classification, proposed by Henry Rappaport in 1956 and 1966, became the first widely accepted classification of lymphomas other than Hodgkin's. Following its publication in 1982, the Working Formulation became the standard classification for this group of diseases. It introduced the term non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) and defined three grades of lymphoma.
However, NHL consists of 16 different conditions that have little in common with each other. They are grouped by their aggressiveness. Less aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas are compatible with a long survival while more aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas can be rapidly fatal without treatment. Without further narrowing, the label is of limited usefulness for patients or doctors.
The most recent lymphoma classifications, the 1994 Revised European-American Lymphoma (REAL) classification and the 2001 WHO classification, abandoned the HL vs. NHL grouping. Instead, 43 different forms of lymphoma are listed and discussed separately. Although Hodgkin's lymphoma is recognised as being a tumour of lymphocytes of mature B cell lineage, it is still considered separately within the WHO classification.
Further Reading
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article on
"Non-Hodgkin lymphoma"
All material adapted used from Wikipedia is available under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Wikipedia® itself is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.