In article <147559 at netnews.upenn.edu>, lally at biochem.dental.upenn.edu (Ned Lally) writes:
> In article <gila005-090993204812 at right.dom.uab.edu>, gila005 at uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu (Steve Holland) writes:
> |> In article <sspencer-090993151038 at ted.bocklabs.wisc.edu>,
> |> sspencer at macc.wisc.edu (Stephan Spencer) wrote:
> |> >
> |> > I was wondering if someone could delineate the difference between a
> |> > lymphoma and leukemia.
> |> >
> |> > Thanks..
> |> >
> |> > Stephan Spencer
> |> > University of Wisconsin, Biochemistry
> |> > sspencer at macc.wisc.edu> |>
> |> A leukemia is a tumor that produces abnormal white blood cells in the
> |> bloodstream. A lymphoma is a tumor of the lymph nodes that causes
> |> lymph nodes to expand, invade other organs, and cause lymphoid
> |> tissue to appear where it should not. >
> Leukemias are "tumors" of the bone marrow (blood forming cells), while lymphomas
> are tumors of the lymphoid organs and lymphatics (effector cells). When tumor
> cells are found in the circulating blood, by definition, it is leukemia.
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Edward T. Lally
> _/ _/ _/ _/_/ _/ _/_/ _/ lally at biochem.dental.upenn.edu> _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ (215)898-5913|FAX(215)573-2050
> _/ _/ _/ _/_/ _/ _/_/ The University of Pennsylvania
> _/ _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Leuk- is a prefix meaning "white"; the suffix -emia refers to blood. Leukemia
is thus white blood - a large increase in white blood cells. While several
conditions (such as acute infections) can give rise to significant elevations
in white blood cell counts, numbers greater than 100,000/ml are almost always
due to a malignant process. Most leukemias result from malignancies of the
bone marrow (tumors of granulocytes give rise to (very common)"
myelocytic leukemias", which can be acute or chronic;
lymphocytic malignancies give rise to lymphocytic leukemias,which can also be
acute or chronic; those
of plasma cells give rise to the (rare) plasma cell leukemias; those of
megakarycytes give rise to (extremely rare) megakaryocytic leukemias and so
on). Lymphomas occassionly give rise to leukemias, usually very late in the
course of the disease.
Lymphomas are most certainly not tumors of lymphatics (effector
cells),whatever that means. Tumors of lymphatics are rare and may be
lymphangiomas (benign) or lymphangiosarcomas (malignant). Lymphomas are tumors
of lymphocytic origin that give rise to a palpable mass - usually in a lymphmas
are of cells other than lymphocytes but for historical reasons are still called
lymphomas.
