What is follicular lymphoma?

• Follicular lymphoma is a low grade (slow growing) type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells called B lymphocytes.
• It can’t be cured yet, but it can be treated.
• Most people with follicular lymphoma continue to have a good quality of life.

Follicular lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that affects blood cells called B lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are a kind of white blood cell that help prevent infection.

When you have follicular lymphoma, your B lymphocytes stop working properly. They end up clustering together in your lymph nodes, which causes swelling and lumps to form. Scientists call these clusters ‘‘follicles”.

You may be able to feel lumps in your armpit, neck, or groin, but they may also be deeper inside your chest or stomach area, or anywhere that you have lymph nodes. You can discover more about lymph nodes and your lymphatic system further down this page.

There isn’t a cure for follicular lymphoma yet, but treatment aims to manage any symptoms you have and reduce the amount of lymphoma cells in your body. Most people respond well to treatment, and can continue to live a good life.

However, it’s worth knowing that follicular lymphoma is what’s called a ‘relapsing/remitting’ disease. This means that even if treatment works, it may come back again in the future. Most people can have more treatment if this happens.

Read our information about relapse and treatment types.

You might hear follicular lymphoma referred to as ‘non-Hodgkin lymphoma’, or ‘low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma’.

This is because Hodgkin lymphoma is a disease named after the person who discovered it, and all other lymphomas are called ‘non-Hodgkin lymphoma’.

'Low grade' means slow growing.

There are lots of different types of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Generally speaking, they can be split into two main groups:

• Low grade (slow growing) non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Follicular lymphoma is the most common low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Others include muscosa-associated MALT lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, Waldenström macroglobulinaemia (WM) and small lymphocytic lymphoma, otherwise understood as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). These all behave differently and can require different treatment to follicular lymphoma. Some people with certain types of low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma won’t require any treatment.
• High grade (fast growing) non-Hodgkin lymphomas. The most common high grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma is called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Read our information about DLBCL and other high grade non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

It can be hard for doctors to discover exactly which non-Hodgkin lymphoma you have, which is why you might need lots of tests.

Some people may find their diagnosis changes from one type of lymphoma to another, or they may have a mix of different types.

Low grade non-Hodgkin lymphomas like follicular lymphoma can also transform (turn into) or behave like a high grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Your hospital team will be able to tell you more about your exact diagnosis and what to expect, so don't be afraid to speak to them if you don't understand something or if you have questions.

The lymphatic system is part of your immune system, and has an important role in helping your body to fight infections. It’s made up of a network of tubes called lymph vessels that are found all over your body, and which connect small glands called lymph nodes. A fluid called lymph travels through the vessels and nodes, and contains lots of lymphocytes.

Follicular lymphoma can affect any part of the lymphatic system, and sometimes different parts at once. This is why some people might only have one lump, and others may have more. Or, you may not have any visible lumps at all.

Your doctor will use the number, size and location of any lumps to help work out what stage the follicular lymphoma is at. We have more information about staging.