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Burkitt lymphoma    See images

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment

Alternative names:

B-cell lymphoma; High-grade B-cell lymphoma; Small non-cleaved cell lymphoma

Definition:

A lymph gland tumor classified as a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It was first described among African children, but has now been described with increasing frequency in American children.

Causes and Risks

African Burkitt lymphoma is closely associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the primary cause of infectious mononucleosis. The American form of Burkitt lymphoma is less closely associated with EBV. Both types of tumor are derived from a line of immunologic cells called B lymphocytes.

Burkitt lymphoma may first be noticed as a swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck or below the jaw, which is not associated with any prior infection. These are often painless. Unlike post-infectious nodes, these lymph nodes grow very rapidly. The disease may begin in other locations.

Recently, chromosome abnormalities have been recognized in tumor cells. One of these consists of a translocated gene (a gene that appears on a chromosome other than where it is expected); in this case, a gene that is normally from chromosome 8 is found on chromosome 14.

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