Lymphogranulomatosis is an oncological disease of the lymphatic system, manifested by a tumor-like growth of the lymph nodes. The disease is also called Hodgkin’s lymphoma – for the first time the disease was described by the British oncologist Thomas Hodgkin. The lymphogranulomatosis detected in the early stages lends itself well to therapy, in many cases it is possible to do without surgery.
Approaches and stages of treatment
The method of treatment of lymphogranulomatosis is selected taking into account the form and stage of the disease, the age of the patient, the presence of other diseases. If the presence of lymphoma is suspected, a medical examination, radiation diagnosis, biopsy, blood test is indicated.
In Belarus, treatment of lymphogranulomatosis of any form and stage is carried out. In some cases, neoplasms can affect large lymph nodes and even internal organs, so treatment methods should be justified by an accurate diagnosis and individual characteristics of the patient.
Therapy of Hodgkin’s lymphoma involves:
- at the initial stages – radiation therapy;
- at later stages – radiation therapy and chemotherapy;
- in advanced cases of the disease-high-dose chemotherapy in combination with bone marrow transplantation.
For children, the use of radiation treatment in combination with different schemes of polychemotherapy is relevant. To exclude damage to internal organs in Belarus, a laparotomy with a biopsy is performed, in some cases, an operation can be performed to remove the spleen – an important focus of lymphogranulomatosis. After therapy and recovery from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, patients remain under the supervision of a doctor, since even the highest quality treatment does not guarantee the absence of a relapse in the future.
How the tumor is removed
In the case of Hodgkin’s disease, combined chemoradiotherapy is most often performed. The drug is administered through the subclavian vein using a thin tube or an implanted port. The procedure lasts several hours, the selection of drugs and the duration of the course of treatment for each patient are individual and depend on the type of tumor, the stage of its development, the aggressiveness of the process, the age of the patient.
According to the indication, a bone marrow transplant can be prescribed. The operation is performed if other methods of treating the disease are not effective, the patient has a relapse, the goal is to destroy the remnants of the tumor disease.
During the operation, peripheral blood stem cells are collected using a drug that causes the release of the necessary material from the bone marrow into the bloodstream. The device is able to separate the required cells and return the rest of the blood to the person. Bone marrow damaged after chemotherapy receives transplanted cells by transfusion. The process of engraftment lasts about 2 weeks, after this period, the number of white blood cells, platelets and hemoglobin increases significantly.
To learn more about how the treatment of lymphogranulomatosis occurs, what tests you need to pass before therapy and how much it will all cost, you can consult with an oncologist.
