Words to know: Lymphoma
- Lymphocyte
- A type of white blood cell that helps fight infection.
- Lymph node
- A small, bean-shaped gland that filters fluid and holds immune cells.
- B cell
- A type of lymphocyte that makes antibodies. Most lymphomas start in B cells.
- T cell
- A type of lymphocyte that attacks infected or abnormal cells.
- Aggressive
- Fast-growing. These lymphomas need treatment soon but are often curable.
- Indolent
- Slow-growing. These lymphomas may not need treatment right away.
- B symptoms
- Fever, drenching night sweats, or losing a lot of weight without trying.
- Biopsy
- Removing tissue to look at under a microscope.
- PET-CT scan
- A scan that shows active cancer cells, which light up because they use more sugar.
- Deauville score
- A 1 to 5 score used to read PET scans. Lower scores (1 to 3) usually mean no active lymphoma.
- Bone marrow
- The soft tissue inside bones where blood cells are made.
- LDH
- A protein in the blood that can be high when lymphoma is active.
- Remission
- Signs of lymphoma are gone (complete) or smaller (partial).
- Relapse
- When lymphoma comes back after treatment.
- Refractory
- Lymphoma that does not respond to treatment.
- Chemoimmunotherapy
- Chemotherapy given together with an antibody drug such as rituximab.
- Monoclonal antibody
- A lab-made protein that attaches to a marker on cancer cells, such as CD20.
- Antibody-drug conjugate
- An antibody that carries a strong cancer drug straight to the cancer cell.
- CAR T-cell therapy
- A treatment that changes your own T cells in a lab so they can attack lymphoma.
- Bispecific antibody
- A drug that links a T cell to a lymphoma cell so the T cell can kill it.
- Cytokine release syndrome (CRS)
- A strong immune reaction that can cause fever and low blood pressure after CAR T or bispecific antibodies.
- ICANS
- Short-term brain and nerve side effects, like confusion, after CAR T or bispecific antibodies.
- Stem cell transplant
- High-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cells to rebuild healthy bone marrow.
- Transformation
- When a slow-growing lymphoma changes into a fast-growing one.
- Maintenance
- Ongoing treatment after the main treatment to help keep lymphoma away.
Last updated: 2026-10-27. Medically reviewed by Veli Bakalov, MD, medical oncologist (October 2026). General education from Step by Step, the patient portal of HemeOncBuddy.