About NHL

Understanding Medical Tests for NHL

Medical tests are needed to diagnose NHL and find out where it is in your body.

Common tests to diagnose NHL include:

  • Physical exam—your doctor will give you a physical exam to check for swollen lymph nodes, liver, or spleen (an organ in your abdomen) or other signs of NHL
  • Blood tests—your blood is taken through a vein and examined
  • Biopsy—a lymph node or small sample of bone marrow is removed and viewed under a microscope to see if you have NHL
  • Flow cytometry—your blood is examined to find out the type of cancer and number of cells involved

Common tests to find out where NHL is in your body include:

  • Imaging tests such as X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, or PET scans—these are pictures of inside your body that help show where the NHL is

How much testing can you expect?

The types and frequency of medical tests will vary. Most people with NHL will have regular physical exams, blood tests, and occasional imaging tests to monitor their health.
 
Next Section Stages of NHL

Indications

RITUXAN® (Rituximab) is indicated for the treatment of patients with:

  • Previously untreated follicular, CD20-positive, B-cell NHL in combination with first-line chemotherapy and, in patients achieving a complete or partial response to RITUXAN in combination with chemotherapy, as single-agent maintenance therapy
  • Non-progressing (including stable disease), low-grade, CD20-positive, B-cell NHL, as a single agent, after first-line CVP chemotherapy
  • Previously untreated diffuse large B-cell, CD20-positive NHL in combination with CHOP or other anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens
  • Relapsed or refractory, low-grade or follicular, CD20-positive, B-cell NHL as a single agent

People with serious infections should not receive RITUXAN.

Important Safety Information

  • RITUXAN can cause serious side effects that can lead to death, including infusion reactions, tumor lysis syndrome (TLS; kidney failure due to fast breakdown of cancer cells), severe skin and mouth reactions, and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML; a rare, serious brain infection).
  • RITUXAN has also been associated with serious and life-threatening side effects, including the return of active hepatitis B virus infection with sudden and serious liver problems including liver failure, and death, other serious infections that can lead to death, heart problems, kidney problems, and stomach and serious bowel problems including blockage and tears in the bowel that can sometimes lead to death.
  • The most common side effects of RITUXAN seen in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were infusion reactions, fever, chills, low white blood cells, infections, body aches, and tiredness. Before starting treatment with RITUXAN it is important to talk to your doctor about your medical history.
  • Tell your doctor about any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all of the possible side effects with RITUXAN. For more information, ask your doctor.

Please see full Prescribing Information, including Medication Guide.

CVP=cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone or prednisolone; CHOP=cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone.