Lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system in the body. There are two types of lymphoma: Non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s. The article lists out the different treatment options for lymphoma that are used to treat this deadly form of cancer.

Active surveillance
One of the treatment options for lymphoma is active surveillance, where slow-growing forms of lymphoma are not treated immediately. The growth of the lymphoma is monitored and treatment is given only if it starts growing or if it causes symptoms.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of medication to treat cancer. The medication can be given orally or through IV. It depends on the requirements of the case. These medications are highly powerful and can cause many side effects.

Lymphoma can affect lymph cells across the body, and hence, chemotherapy is the right form of treatment since the medications can kill cancer cells, irrespective of the location in the body.

Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy makes use of radiation to treat cancer. The radiation is in the form of high energy beams delivered by a machine. This is used to treat lymphomas at specific locations in the body. These locations are marked using ink dots, so that radiation is delivered at the exact location.

Radiation therapy usually is spread over a period of around 4-6 weeks. It can be given along with chemotherapy for advanced stages of cancer. Both radiation and chemotherapy can cause serious side effects, which may require supportive care to help deal with the symptoms.

CAR T-cell therapy
This therapy is a part of immunology treatment, where the T-cells from the patient’s body are removed and genetically engineered. This creates CARs or chimeric antigen receptors that can destroy antigens on the lymphoma cells. These cells are then injected into the patient’s body to destroy the lymphoma.

This is a complex and expensive process and results depend on the stage of the disease.

Bone marrow transplant
Also referred to as stem cell treatment, it involves harvesting healthy stem cells from the body. The bone marrow, where blood cells are created is then targeted using chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This ensures all the cancer cells in the bone marrow are completely destroyed.

Once this is done, the healthy stem cells are then infused. These stem cells would rebuild the bone marrow. The stem cells used may be from the patient or from a donor.

Clinical trials
Clinical trials are conducted by hospitals where new medications that are yet to be approved are tried out on patients. These trials are a part of the drug approval process. Participating in clinical trials can be risky. However, in most cases benefits outweigh the risks. The trials would involve extensive monitoring by doctors, which is reassuring for the patient.

The article listed the various treatment options for lymphoma. The type of treatment is decided based on the stage of the disease, the type of lymphoma, and the patient’s specific needs.