Link With Lymphoma?

[Sarah4444]

Can anyone clarify for me if there is a link between POTS symptoms and lymphoma? My maternal grandmother died of what they think was Hodgkins lymphoma when she was only 35, and now my first cousin on the same side has just been diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (B cell?) that has a gynecological presentation in her case. She is in her early 40s. She was told there is a genetic element to this kind of lymphoma; I have been having a terrible time with POTS symptoms and can't help but wonder if there is some kind of connection, but since I live in a medically underserviced area in Northern Ontario I have a hard time accessing medical resources of any kind, let alone who know about POTS, it's potential causes, etc.

Thanks again. I know you are all stuggling too and I really appreciate the help.

[jem15]

Ha, I was curious about your post, cause I got diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 29, and POTS at age 31, though I've had symptoms of POTS since age 16. The doctors tell me they don't think the lymphoma is related, but I still wonder since it deals with the immune system. And my POTS came on after a virus, so I wonder if there's an underlying immune dysfunction that predisposes you to both conditions. I do know that epstein's barr virus, can predispose you towards getting lymphoma. and epstein's barr is often associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Though I didn't have Epstein's barr, they thought I had CFS. And I'm wondering if whatever virus it was that kicked off symptoms for me, also predisposed me to the Hodgkin's, but maybe hasnt been discovered yet. There was talk that the XMRV virus might be behind CFS, but nothing definitive proven yet. The XMRV virus is associated with I think some form of leukemia maybe? i cant remember, but it was something in the blood cancer family.

Ha, so the answer to your question is I dont know, sorry cant be much of help, but those are some of my thoughts. If you ever do find out any links, let me know;-)

[jem15]

Oh and one more thing, my POTS symptoms did get a lotworse about a year before I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's. So somehow it was aggravating things. If you have any swollen lymphnodes anywhere that have been hanging around for a while in your neck, armpits, etc.. and/or if you have night sweats, fevers, or itchiness that doesnt go away, due to your family history, maybe get it checked out if you have concerns.

[juliegee]

A few of us have lowered immunities, low immunoglobulins. I have recently read that some varieties of that are linked to cancer, especially lymphoma. Scary . I eat a very healthy diet, full of antioxidants to combat any risk.

[Simmy]

Very interesting topic. I was diagnosed with the Epstein Barr virus back in 1993, but I managed to get the monthly outbreaks under control after a few years. I developed POTS two years ago right after a bout of bronchial pneumonia. My father got lymphoma at 46 and fought it for 18 years. I?m 46

Thanks, Sarah, for starting the topic, and thanks, caterpilly for the suggestions.

[sue1234]

I know that people with celiac disease have a much higher rate of getting, I think it is, intestinal lymphoma. On the celiac boards, they just talk about getting their celiac under control so that they can lower their risk of lymphoma(gi). So, I am assuming that they think it occurs in that group because of the autoimmune/overstimulated immune effect.

[dsdmom]

I don't know if you've been following any of the studies on XMRV and other MLV's that are being done right now, but they are a family of newly discovered infectious retrovirus and have been implicated in CFS/ME. Many patients with CFS/ME also have dysautonomia/POTS. There seems to be a link (not yet proven I don't think) between these viruses and various cancers. I believe that lymphoma may be one of them.

Tues & Wed of this week is the first International XMRV conference, being opened by the head of the NIH, which is very exciting. The FDA/NIH recently released their study showing MLVs in 80% of patients with CFS.

I suppose the point of my post is that yes, there could be a correlation between pots and lymphoma although not enough is known yet.

[juliegee]

I don't know if you've been following any of the studies on XMRV and other MLV's that are being done right now, but they are a family of newly discovered infectious retrovirus and have been implicated in CFS/ME. Many patients with CFS/ME also have dysautonomia/POTS. There seems to be a link (not yet proven I don't think) between these viruses and various cancers. I believe that lymphoma may be one of them.

Tues & Wed of this week is the first International XMRV conference, being opened by the head of the NIH, which is very exciting. The FDA/NIH recently released their study showing MLVs in 80% of patients with CFS.

I suppose the point of my post is that yes, there could be a correlation between pots and lymphoma although not enough is known yet.

Dumb question. I know XMRV is a retrovirus. What is MLV? That's a new one for me.

I haven't been following the research closely. Has the first study been replicated? Is it still only one researcher/company finding the XMRV link or or more now?

Thanks-

Julie