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Lymphoma is a general term for a group of cancers that originate in the lymphatic system. Lymphoma results when a lymphocyte (a type of blood cell) undergoes a malignant change and accumulates because of exaggerated multiplication and/or a failure to die. This excess of lymphocytes interferes with the growth of normal blood cells and creates masses of tumors in lymph nodes. The two main types of lymphocytes are B lymphocytes (B-cells) and T lymphocytes (T-cells). Lymphomas are divided into two major categories: Hodgkin lymphoma (Hodgkin's disease) and all other lymphomas (non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or NHL). Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a rare type of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Additionally, most ALCL cases fall into one of two distinct forms: systemic ALCL, involving lymph nodes or extranodal sites; or primary cutaneous ALCL, involving skin nodules. According to the American Cancer Society, each year in the United States more than 66,000 new cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma are diagnosed. While ALCL is the second most common type of T-cell lymphoma, representing 2% to 8% of all lymphomas, it is still relatively rare. Over the past twenty years much has been learned about lymphoma. This has resulted in changes to the classification systems used to categorize lymphoma tumors and to changes in the names used for some tumors. Anaplastic large cell lymphoma may also be called Malignant Anaplastic Lymphoma, Ki1-positive, Large Cell Lymphoma or CD30-positive Lymphoma.
ALCL node staining for CD30
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