[Fat Bear Science] The symptoms of this "cancer" are mostly painless and swollen lymph nodes. It is more common in children and adolescents. Parents should pay attention to these aspects.

Due to the influence of environmental pollution, food pollution and other factors, the incidence of lymphoma is increasing, and the incidence among children and adolescents is increasing even faster. How should innocent children, middle school students and college students with great prospects stay away from lymphoma?

■

Liu Yao

Director of the Hematology and Oncology Center of the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University, chief physician, postdoctoral co-supervisor, Doctor of Medicine, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California.

He specializes in personalized precision treatment of lymphoma and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and is mainly engaged in basic and clinical research on lymphoma and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Clinic hours: Tuesday afternoon, Thursday morning

■

Li Qiying

Chief physician of the Hematology and Oncology Center, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital.

He excels in the diagnosis of various malignant tumors such as lymphoma, multiple myeloma, lung cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, and comprehensive treatments such as chemotherapy and targeted biological therapy.

Clinic hours: Wednesday morning

■

Wu Jing

Attending physician at the Hematology and Oncology Center of the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University, Doctor of Medicine.

He specializes in chemotherapy, molecular targeted therapy and multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment of common blood tumors such as lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Beware of painless lymph node swelling

Lymphoma is a malignant tumor that originates in lymph nodes or lymphatic tissue. Since lymphocytes are blood cells distributed throughout the body, malignant lymphocytes, or lymphoma cells, can appear anywhere in the body.

About 60% of lymphoma patients first develop symptoms such as painless and itchy superficial lymph node swelling in the neck, armpits and groin. At first, it may be a single swollen lymph node, which gradually increases in number and becomes larger and larger.

Lymphoma can also occur in lymph nodes in the mediastinum, abdominal cavity, etc., and can also occur in various extranodal organs such as the lungs, breasts, liver, kidneys, bones, brain, skin, etc., and can cause corresponding symptoms in different organs.

If it occurs in the stomach, small intestine or large intestine, there may be symptoms of peptic ulcer or gastrointestinal dysfunction such as abdominal distension, bloody stool, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

If lymphoma invades the bone marrow, it may cause symptoms of blood diseases such as paleness, fever, bleeding, etc. Some patients may also experience systemic symptoms such as skin itching, fever, night sweats, and weight loss.

The incidence rate is increasing year by year, and it is higher in children

Lymphoma can be divided into two major categories based on pathological classification: Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma accounts for more than 80%. Among children and adolescent patients, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is not only the main type, but the vast majority are also highly malignant.

In recent years, the incidence of lymphoma has been increasing. According to data reported at the Lugano International Lymphoma Conference, there is one new case every nine minutes worldwide. According to data released at last year's World Lymphoma Awareness Day in Shanghai, the incidence rate is 3.5/100,000. In the ranking of malignant tumor incidence, men rank 9th and women rank 10th.

This tumor can occur at any age, with a higher incidence in children, ranking third among childhood malignant tumors. Lymphocytes are blood cells that proliferate very quickly and are greatly affected by the environment, so the incidence of lymphoma has increased rapidly in recent years, at a rate of about 4% per year. The disease has become one of the major diseases affecting human health, and is more harmful to children and adolescents.

Viruses, stress and other factors can trigger lymphoma

The main risk factors for lymphoma are currently considered to be:

Chemical factors: air pollution, water pollution, food pollution, indoor decoration pollution, etc. At the same time, people who are often exposed to chemical substances are also prone to disease, especially those containing benzene.

Physical factors: radiation in daily life. Clinically, some young cancer patients have long-term and intensive Internet experience.

Infections caused by viruses, bacteria, etc.: Currently known infections include Epstein-Barr virus, HIV, Helicobacter pylori, etc. When some people are infected with viruses, their cells undergo gene mutations, leading to illness. For example, people infected with HIV have a high chance of getting lymphoma.

Psychological pressure: In today's society, competition is becoming increasingly fierce. People have to deal with all aspects of study, work, and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, people are generally under great pressure, which will inevitably cause psychological tension and anxiety in the long run. If this state cannot be well relieved, the body's immune function will decline and lymphoma is prone to occur.

Unbalanced diet: Many people nowadays do not take in enough trace elements such as zinc and vitamins. In addition, they eat large amounts of white rice, white noodles and meat for a long time, but stay away from whole grains, vegetables and fruits. This leads to unbalanced nutritional intake, resulting in low immunity, which is also one of the causes of cancer.

Familial clustering: Sometimes we see this phenomenon, where multiple relatives in a family have tumors, some with the same tumor and some with different tumors, but this also shows that tumors do cluster in families. This may be related to genetic factors, similar living habits, lifestyles, and living environments. Therefore, children of cancer patients should also be vigilant and have regular physical examinations.

What should children and adolescents pay special attention to in preventing lymphoma?

Although the causes of lymphoma in children and adolescents are basically the same as those in other age groups, prevention should be carried out against these factors. However, the focus of prevention for children and adolescents is different. For children and adolescents, special attention should be paid to the following aspects of prevention.

Prevention of indoor pollution: Young people want to live in new houses after marriage, and newly renovated houses are often seriously polluted. It is recommended to choose environmentally friendly decoration materials on the one hand, and to leave the house vacant and ventilated for a longer time before moving in on the other hand. After moving in, you should also open the windows frequently for ventilation, even during the period of confinement for pregnant women.

Radiation prevention: Although the radiation from household appliances such as microwave ovens and mobile phones is within a safe range, expectant mothers or infants should try to reduce the frequency of use and the time spent near microwave ovens and induction cookers. Infants should avoid staying near TVs and computers for a long time and playing with mobile phones. Children under 16 should avoid using mobile phones and computers for a long time.

Prevention of malnutrition: Some primary school students like to eat take-out snacks or packaged small foods. In addition to food safety risks, these foods also lead to a decrease in the intake of fruits and regular meals, resulting in unbalanced nutrition, decreased immunity, and an increased incidence of lymphoma. Some students who live on campus, including college students, eat too casually and have serious picky eating habits, which also leads to unbalanced nutrition.

Prevention and treatment of viral infection: Many teenagers have weak self-control, often stay up late playing games and surfing the Internet, have malnutrition, excessive study pressure, lack of exercise and many other factors that lead to decreased immunity, which can easily lead to repeated viral infection or prolonged infection, especially Epstein-Barr virus infection, which may induce lymphoma. On the one hand, a series of measures are required to improve physical condition; on the other hand, if a viral infection occurs, especially Epstein-Barr virus infection and causes lymph node enlargement, the infection must be controlled as soon as possible to prevent the viral infection from being prolonged and unhealed.

In short, due to the influence of various factors, the incidence of lymphoma is getting higher and higher, becoming one of the most serious threats to human health. It is hoped that through the joint efforts of the whole society, the knowledge of lymphoma prevention can be popularized, preventive measures can be implemented, and the incidence of lymphoma can be reduced, especially the rising trend of lymphoma in children and adolescents.

Text/Fat Bear

Picture/partially from the Internet (please contact us to delete if there is any infringement)

Audit/Hematology and Oncology Center

Member of China Medical We-Media Alliance

Science Popularization China Co-construction Base

Chongqing Science Popularization Base/Chongqing Health Promotion Hospital

Chongqing Science and Technology Communication and Popularization Project

National Health Commission National Basic Public Health Service Health Literacy Project