Health Topic

Hodgkin Lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of lymphoma, cancer of the lymph system. It is serious but can usually be cured if found and treated early. Learn more.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: Hodgkin Disease

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Hodgkin Lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma, also called Hodgkin disease, is a type of cancer that develops in the lymph system. Your lymph system is part of your immune system. It helps protect your body from infection and disease.

The lymph system is made up of tissues and organs that produce, store, and carry white blood cells. It includes your:

  • Bone marrow
  • Lymph nodes
  • Lymphatic vessels
  • Spleen
  • Thymus
  • Tonsils

Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the main types of lymphoma. The other is non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Each type starts in different types of white blood cells.

The cause of Hodgkin lymphoma is unknown. But there are certain people who are at higher risk of developing it.

Certain factors can make you more likely to develop Hodgkin lymphoma:

  • Age. Hodgkin lymphoma is most common in early adulthood (age 20-39 years) and in late adulthood (age 65 years and older).
  • Being male. The risk of adult Hodgkin lymphoma is slightly higher in males than in females.
  • Past Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Having an infection with EBV as a young child or teenager increases your risk of Hodgkin lymphoma.
  • A family history of Hodgkin lymphoma. Having a parent or sibling with Hodgkin lymphoma increases your risk of developing it.

The signs and symptoms of Hodgkin lymphoma may include:

  • Painless, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, underarm, or groin
  • Fever for no known reason
  • Drenching night sweats (very heavy sweating during sleep)
  • Weight loss for no known reason in the past 6 months
  • Itchy skin, especially after bathing or drinking alcohol
  • Fatigue

To find out if you have Hodgkin lymphoma, your provider:

  • Will ask about your symptoms and medical history. This will include checking for signs of disease, such as lumps or anything else that seems unusual.
  • May order some lab tests, such as: Complete blood count
  • Blood chemistry studies
  • Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) test
  • Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) test
  • Blood tests to rule out other medical conditions
  • May do imaging tests such as a CT and PET (positron emission tomography) scans
  • May do a lymph node biopsy

Treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma include:

  • Chemotherapy
  • Radiation therapy
  • Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells
  • Cancer immunotherapy

Hodgkin lymphoma can usually be cured if it is found and treated early.

It sits within Cancers and Immune System.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Cancer Institute.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Hodgkin Lymphoma

7,150 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

Start Here

Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Prevention and Risk Factors

Living With

Related Issues

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Hodgkin Disease. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Hodgkin Lymphoma, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.