Medicine & USMLE

Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)

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Leukemias and Lymphomas
  1. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
  2. Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL)
  3. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
  4. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
  5. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
  6. Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL)
  7. Hodgkin Lymphoma
  8. Burkitt Lymphoma
  9. Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)
  10. Follicular Lymphoma
  11. Mantle Cell Lymphoma
  12. Marginal Zone Lymphoma
  13. Primary CNS Lymphoma (PCNSL)
  14. Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATLL)
  15. Mycosis Fungoides / Sezary Syndrome

Summary

Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, or DLBCL for short, is the most common type of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in adults. It is a type of B-cell lymphoma that affects lymph nodes spread diffusely throughout the body.  DLBCL can be caused by mutations in BCL-2 and BCL-6. As an aggressive cancer, DLBCL usually presents as a rapidly-enlarging mass in patients. Important to remember is the fact that DLBCL can arise from CLL, in a process known as a Richter transformation -- in which CLL turns into the more aggressive DLBCL.