Non-Hodgkin lymphoma: the clinician's perspective--a view from the receiving end

Optimal treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma depends on establishing an accurate diagnosis and determining the stage or anatomic extent of the lymphoma. With this information, the treating clinician can assign the lymphoma to a subgroup characterized by expected natural history: indolent, aggressive, acute leukemia-like or viral, which generally reflects the typical behavior of the disease unmodified by treatment and indicates the urgency with which intervention must be offered. Finally, a number of special circumstances and problems posed by specific lymphomas must be anticipated and the therapeutic plan altered to accommodate them. After primary treatment, special secondary events such as transformation to more aggressive histologic types must be recognized and the treatment plan must be altered to address these events. This article reviews standard diagnostic grouping of lymphomas, special problems encountered during primary diagnosis and subsequent clinical evolution and emphasizes the cooperative interaction between the hematopathologist and the treating clinician that underlies optimal management.