According to the National Cancer Institute, lymphoblasts are precursor lymphocytes, which are immature white blood cells that form part of the immune system. Lymphoblasts mature into three types of lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes that make antibodies, T-lymphocytes that work with B-cells to kill tumor cells and other mutated cells, and natural killer cells, which directly kill mutated cells.
T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
The most common type of lymphoblastic lymphoma is T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, which comprises almost 90 percent of lymphoblastic lymphomas. LymphomaInfo.net says this is a very aggressive lymphoma that usually progresses to an advanced stage before it is diagnosed.
B-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
Although B-Cell lymphoblastic lymphoma comprises less than 10 percent of all lymphoblastic lymphomas, LymphomaInfo.net says a form called Burkitt's lymphoma comprises 30 percent to 40 percent of lymphomas in children. It is linked to the virus that causes mononucleosis, called Epstein-Barr virus.
NK-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
This is a very rare form of lymphoblastic lymphoma that only recently has been confirmed as a separate type of lymphoma. In a study led by Dr. Tomoaki Imai, Japanese researchers showed for the first time a case of lymphoma stemming from precursor natural killer cells, or NK cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. The study was published in the journal of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology in December 2009.
References
- National Cancer Institute: General Information About Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
- LymphomaInfo.net: Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
- "Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology", NK cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in the masticator space: a case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with challenging maxillofacial manifestation and immunophenotype; Tomoaki Imai, Masahiro Michizawa, Hiroyuki Degami: December 2009
