What causes a non-Hodgkins lymphoma and how does it develop?
The cause is not known. If you have a poorly functioning immune system (for example, if you have AIDS) your risk of developing a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is increased. However, this only accounts for a small number of cases and the cause of most cases is unknown. It is not an inherited condition and so does not run in families. What seems to happen is that a cancer (such as a lymphoma) starts from one abnormal cell. In the case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the cancer develops from a lymphocyte cell which becomes abnormal. The exact reason why the cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal. If the abnormal cell survives it may multiply and produce many abnormal cells. (See separate leaflet called ‘Cancer – What Causes Cancer’ for more details.) The cancerous lymphocytes tend to collect in lymph nodes. The lymph nodes then get bigger and form cancerous tumours. Some abnormal cells may travel to oth
