Burkitt lymphoma is a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that starts in the immune cells called B-lymphocytes. This type of cancer can be very serious and is often fatal if it’s not treated quickly. Fortunately, healthcare providers have made huge progress in helping children and adults who are diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma.
Symptoms vary depending on the type of Burkitt lymphoma you have and how it’s developing. The most common types of Burkitt lymphoma are endemic (occurring in people living in Africa) and sporadic (occurring in people living in the United States).
The symptoms of endemic Burkitt lymphoma can include fever, weight loss, night sweats, and skin problems. It can also cause swelling of the jaws or facial bones.
Sporadic Burkitt lymphoma can also cause swelling of the head and neck, and may produce swollen or tender lymph nodes in your armpits, neck, chest, or abdomen. It can also affect your bones, liver, kidneys, or other organs.
It can also lead to problems with the spleen, which filters blood and produces antibodies to fight infections. This can lead to low white blood cells and a condition called tumor lysis syndrome.
During treatment, your doctor will do regular tests and scans to find out how well your lymphoma is responding to treatment. These will help your specialist decide the best treatment plan for you.
You will have lots of blood and tissue tests, including a bone marrow test to see how many healthy bone marrow cells you have. These will help your specialist stage your lymphoma and find out what organs and lymph nodes are involved.
Your doctor may use a CT or MRI scan to help find out where your lymphoma is growing and how big it is. You will also have a biopsy of your lymph nodes to look at the lymphoma under the microscope.
The biopsy will show which type of lymphoma you have and where it is growing. It will help your doctor plan the right treatment for you and decide if you need to have surgery.
Chemotherapy medicines are the main treatment for Burkitt lymphoma. These can be given by mouth, in a syringe, or through a vein (the artery that leads to your heart). It can also be given into the fluid that circulates around your brain and spinal cord.
It can be a long treatment process, but it’s worth the effort because most patients survive for years after they complete treatment. In some cases, people are cured of the disease altogether with intensive chemotherapy, especially when they start it soon after diagnosis.
A stem cell transplant is another option to treat relapsed or refractory Burkitt lymphoma. This is done either using your own stem cells (autologous) or from a donor’s (allogeneic).
If you have relapsed, you can get a second treatment to try and keep the cancer from coming back. This might be a different drug than the first or it might be a high dose of chemotherapy, along with another medicine called immunosuppressive therapy.
