Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

Grading & Staging of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL)


Grading & Staging of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL)

Grading describes the indolent or aggressive nature of the tumor. NHL may be graded as low-, intermediate-, or high-grade. Staging refers to the extent of progress the disease has made.

There are individualistic deviations in what these descriptions mean for successful treatment. For instance, it cannot be deduced that a stage IV, high-grade patient has fewer hopes for remission than a stage IV, low-grade patient.

Staging broadly depends on the regions and number of lymph n odes involved and also if one has certain associated symptoms or not.

If there are no associated symptoms 'a' is added to the stage e.g Stage IIIa and if there are certain symptoms like fever, loss of weight etc., the letter 'b' is added.

Staging of NHL according to the Ann Arbor staging system is as follows:

Stage Organs /Regions affected
I Single Lymph Node; sometimes one extra nodal site may be involved (IE)
II Two or more lymph nodes involved; sometimes one extra nodal site may be involved (IIE)
III Lymph node on either sides of the diaphragm are involved. Involvement of an extra nodal organ such as the liver or spleen (IIIS) or both (IIIS+E) is observed
IV Disease widely spread with involvement of different regions/organs

A - no associated symptoms with the disease and the patient may feel well

B - Assocaited symptoms like fever, loss of weight, sweating in evenings or night, loss of appetite

Advertisement
Recommended Reading