Ignoring neck lumps can be dangerous
Lymphatic system is a network of vessels and nodes that helps fight infection and disease, says experts
Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped lumps of tissue found throughout the body. When the body is fighting an infection, like in the case of fever, lymph nodes can swell. However, if the lymph nodes are swollen and painless, it could also be a sign of cancer
Ignoring neck lumps, which can be both of infectious and non-infectious origin, can prove to be dangerous, said experts on Sunday stressing the need for early diagnosis.
The lymphatic system is a network of vessels and nodes that helps fight infection and disease. Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped lumps of tissue found throughout the body.
When the body is fighting an infection, like in the case of fever, lymph nodes can swell. However, if the lymph nodes are swollen and painless, it could also be a sign of cancer.
“If one is having a swollen lymph node which is gradually getting bigger with or without pain, fever, it mandates immediate medical attention and expert advice,” Neha Rastogi Panda, Senior Infectious Diseases Specialist at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon, said.
Panda said that in Indian settings, one of most common causes of lymph node enlargement/ swelling is tuberculosis (TB). Other infections -- viral, fungal should also be sought on a case to case basis. Furthermore, nodes can also be a sign of an inflammatory process and also cancerous origin called lymphoma.
“There is overlap and always a dilemma owing to huge similarity between symptoms of lymphoma and infections particularly tuberculosis which leads to delay in appropriate treatment. We have seen one has been started on anti-tubercular therapy without diagnosis and it doesn't improve leading to further delay and complications,” the doctor said.
“Lymphoma can be misdiagnosed as TB, so it becomes important to diagnose it correctly, the only way these two can be separated is by biopsy and blood works,” Rahul Bhargava, a lymphoma expert and Principal director of haematology and bone marrow transplant, at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, told IANS.
Lymphoma is cancer that begins in infection-fighting cells of the immune system, called lymphocytes.
