Childhood lymphomas – a brief overview

Abstract

The term ‘lymphoma’ refers to malignant proliferation of lymphoid cells, usually in association with and arising from lymphoid tissues (i.e. lymph nodes, thymus, spleen).¹ Lymphomas are closely related to lymphoid leukaemias, which also originate in lymphocytes but typically involve only circulating blood and the bone marrow (where blood cells are generated in a process termed haematopoiesis) and do not usually form static tumours.^2,3