Hodgkin lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of blood cancer. It’s one of the most common cancers diagnosed in 13-24-year-olds.  

Hodgkin lymphoma develops when certain types of white blood cells, called lymphocytes, stop working properly. White blood cells are the cells that help fight infection and lymphocytes are part of your immune system, and travel around your body in the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a network of thin tubes that runs throughout your body and fights infection. It forms part of your immune system.  

Lymphomas can be grouped into either Hodgkin lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma depending on what the lymphoma cells look like when doctors examine them under a microscope. If you have Hodgkin lymphoma, the doctors can see abnormal cells called Reed-Sternberg cells.  

These abnormal cells multiply and build up. You can often feel this in your glands but can be in almost any part of your body.  

You can find out more about Hodgkin lymphoma, including a rare type called nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma, on the Lymphoma Action website.  

The most common sign of Hodgkin lymphoma is a lump or lumps in your neck, armpits or groin that doesn’t go down after a couple of weeks. They may or may not be painful. 

Having this symptom, or any of the symptoms below, doesn’t mean you definitely have cancer. They can be caused by other issues but if you’re worried, it’s important to speak to a doctor. 

As well as a lump, other symptoms of Hodgkin lymphoma include:  

• Drenching sweats, especially at night
• A high temperature
• Losing weight without trying
• Fatigue – extreme tiredness that doesn’t get better when you rest   
• Feeling itchy a lot of the time
• Coughing
• Breathlessness
• Pain or vomiting when you drink alcohol  

You can find out more about the symptoms of lymphoma on the Lymphoma Action website. 

The only way to know if the problem is caused by Hodgkin lymphoma is by having a biopsy. 

This usually means giving you a local anaesthetic (where part of your body is made numb) and taking a sample of cells from the swollen gland using a needle. The cells are then looked at carefully under a microscope for signs of cancer. 

You may also have the whole lump taken out to look at, in which case you’ll be given a general anaesthetic (where you’re sent to sleep for a controlled amount of time and you can’t feel anything). 

You can find out more about the different types of biopsy you might have on the Lymphoma Action website.  

Treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma has a high success rate.  

The exact treatment depends on how far the cancer has spread and how it’s affecting you. Treatment normally involves chemotherapy. You might also have something called an ‘antibody-drug conjugate’, this is a type of antibody that allows chemo to be more targeted at the lymphoma cells. Sometimes this is then followed by radiotherapy.  

You might also be given steroid tablets or injections as part of your chemotherapy treatment.  

Find out more about cancer treatments.  

You can find out more about the specific treatments used for Hodgkin lymphoma on the Lymphoma Action website.  

This page was reviewed in January 2026. It will reviewed again in January 2029.