As with all cancers, treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is usually coordinated by a cancer care team. The team is composed of healthcare professionals specific for the patient’s type of cancer. For non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the team may include:

• Primary physician
• Medical oncologist
• Radiation oncologist
• Hematologist
• Oncology nurse
• Dietician
• Social worker

Other healthcare professionals may be consulted for specific problems related to the patient’s condition.

Treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is based on a number of factors including the type of lymphoma and its stage. Several types of treatment are used against NHL, including:

• Chemotherapy. This treatment method uses powerful drugs to destroy cancer cells. The drugs are typically taken orally or by injection.The most common chemotherapy for NHL is a combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone. The acronym CHOP is used for this combination, based on several variations of the names of these four drugs.
  
  
• Radiation therapy. Precise high-energy radiation is used to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. NHL is usually treated with external beam radiation, a form of radiation therapy that uses a machine located outside of the body to deliver beams of radiation at cancer cells.

A third method used to treat NHL is biological therapy or immunotherapy. This method uses substances naturally produced by the immune system to kill lymphoma cells and slow the growth of the cancer cells. It also helps activate the patient’s immune system to more successfully fight the disease. Substances that may be used include:

• Interferon. Produced by the white blood cells, this hormone-like protein helps the immune system fight infections. Some research has suggested that treating a patient with artificially created interferon can cause certain types of NHL to shrink or stop expanding.
  
  
• Monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies produced in a lab to resemble the antibodies normally produced in the body. Monoclonal antibodies are designed to attack lymphoma cells.

The most effective treatment for NHL may require one or a combination of these methods.

For some patients, high-dose chemotherapy with blood-forming stem cell transplants may be recommended. This treatment involves giving the patient very high doses of chemotherapy, followed by an infusion of blood–forming stem cells. This treatment method may be recommended to patients when standard treatment has failed. Although only a small percentage of patients with NHL are treated with this therapy, the number is growing. In 2002, the American Cancer Society (ACS) reported approximately 4,300 NHL patients in the United States received a stem cell transplant.

A nonmyeloablative transplant is another type of transplant used to treat NHL. It relies on the immune response of a donor’s cells to destroy the lymphoma. In this procedure, patients are placed on low doses of chemotherapy. They are then given stem cells from a donor. Eventually, the transplanted cells develop an immune response to the cancer cells and they begin to destroy them.   

Follow-up care is very important for NHL patients. Once treatment has been completed, the physician usually requires a physical examination every three months for one year. Frequent blood tests are used to monitor for leukemia, and other blood disorders. Additional tests, including PET scans and CAT scans, may be ordered depending on the type and location of the cancer. Patients are encouraged to report the development of any new symptoms to their physician. They may be a sign of recurrent lymphoma or side effects of treatment. The NHL may come back in the lymph system or develop in other parts of the body.

According to the American Cancer Society, the overall five-year relative survival rate for people with NHL is 63 percent. The 10-year relative survival rate is 49 percent.  Survival rates vary with the type of NHL, as well as other contributing factors.

There are no established prevention methods for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Currently, the best way to prevent developing the disease is to prevent known risk factors, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).