What is Burkitt lymphoma?

• Burkitt lymphoma is a rare type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells called B lymphocytes.
• There are three types of Burkitt lymphoma. Sporadic Burkitt lymphoma is the most common in the UK.
• Around 260 people are diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma in the UK each year.
• For many people with Burkitt lymphoma, treatment can get rid of the cancer cells.

White blood cells (lymphocytes) are an important part of your immune system. They move around your body in your blood and lymphatic system and help you fight infections.

Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that develops when lymphocytes grow out of control. Burkitt lymphoma is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

There are two types of lymphocytes: T lymphocytes (T cells) and B lymphocytes (B cells). These travel around your body in your lymphatic system.

Burkitt lymphoma is a rare blood cancer that develops from B cells. It develops when B cells start to multiply in an abnormal way. The affected lymphocytes (cells) cannot fight infection as normal white blood cells do. It is fast growing (high-grade) and needs to be treated as soon as it’s diagnosed.

There are three main types of Burkitt lymphoma. They have some of the same symptoms and treatments, but different causes.

• Sporadic Burkitt lymphoma: this is the most common type in the UK. It's more common in men than in women. We don’t always know the cause, but in some people, it's sometimes linked to a virus which can cause glandular fever (Epstein-Barr virus or EBV). EBV is a very common virus. Most people with EBV do not develop lymphoma.
• Immunodeficiency-associated Burkitt lymphoma: this type is more common in people who have a weakened immune system. Conditions such as HIV can make the immune system weak. Drugs called immunosuppressants that are used to treat autoimmune disease and after organ transplants can also make the immune system weak.
• Endemic Burkitt lymphoma: this type is most common in parts of Africa and tends to affect young children. It may be linked to chronic malaria and the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV).

Our information is mainly about sporadic Burkitt lymphoma and immunodeficiency-associated Burkitt lymphoma.

Burkitt lymphoma is rare. Around 260 people are diagnosed with it in the UK each year. This makes up about 2 out of 100 (2%) of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) cases.

Both children and adults can get Burkitt lymphoma. Sporadic Burkitt lymphoma is more common in children and young adults.

The information on these pages is mainly about Burkitt lymphoma in adults.

Lymphoma Action has information about Burkitt lymphoma in children and lymphoma in young people.

We also have information about blood cancer and young adults.

If you’ve been diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, you may want to know more about your prognosis – what's likely to happen in the future.

For many people, treatment for Burkitt lymphoma can get rid of the cancer cells. But your outlook is very individual and will depend on your age, personal circumstances, and the stage of the lymphoma.

We have general information about things that might affect your prognosis, but everyone is different.

If you want to know about your outlook, your hospital team are the best people to ask.

This information is accredited with the PIF TICK, the UK's only quality mark for trusted health information.

Last review January 2026. Next full review due January 2029. We may make factual updates to the information between reviews.

Thank you to Consultant Haematologist Samuel Harrison for checking the clinical accuracy of our Burkitt lymphoma information.