Leukemias and Lymphomas

Leukemias and lymphomas are cancers which affect the cells which are part of the fluids circulating around the body.

Leukemias affect certain blood cells, particularly the white cells, or "leukocytes" which help fight off infections and disease.

And lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system, a network of vessels which form part of the body's immune system, and carry other infection-fighting cells called "lymphocytes", as well as draining dead cells away from the tissues.

There are several different types of leukemia, classed mainly according to the way the cancer develops, and the variety of white blood cells they affect.

There are two principal kinds of lymphoma - Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's - the latter is more common, and also slightly harder to treat.

Professor Peter Johnson, an expert in lymphomas from the University of Southampton, who carries out work for Cancer Research UK is hopeful that new chemotherapy and radiotherapy techniques will help improve survival rates in lymphoma.

He said: "The sorts of treatment we are investigating in the future centre around on how we can stir the body's immune system into recognising that the lymphoma is there.

Click here to read more about this disease.

Source: www.news.bbc.co.uk