Dawaa Reference

chronic

Burkitt lymphoma

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

Burkitt Lymphoma - StatPearls - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538148/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class BD25.04 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified against1 document
  • No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (5)

  • A rapidly growing mass with high LDH and uric acid reflects the tumor's fast doubling time
  • Endemic disease classically causes an enlarging jaw lesion, swelling around the eye, or genitourinary involvement
  • Sporadic disease usually starts in the abdomen, with abdominal pain, distention, nausea, vomiting, and GI bleeding [abdominal pain · bleeding · nausea · vomiting]
  • Adults are more likely than children to have fever, weight loss, and night sweats [fever · night sweats · weight loss]
  • Immunodeficiency-related disease presents with symptoms tied to the underlying immune disorder, such as AIDS or post-transplant immunosuppression

Signs — what you find (4)

  • Jaw involvement occurs mainly in children with the endemic form
  • Bone marrow involvement is found in fewer than 10% of patients at diagnosis but is common as the disease relapses or resists treatment [relapse]
  • The immunodeficiency-related form often involves lymph nodes, bone marrow, and the central nervous system
  • Bone marrow involvement over 25% of cellularity is classified as Burkitt leukemia rather than lymphoma

Tests (5)

  • Excisional biopsy is preferred over fine-needle aspiration since FNA often yields insufficient tissue
  • In developed countries diagnosis is suspected on microscopy or flow cytometry and confirmed with immunohistochemistry and cytogenetics
  • After tissue diagnosis, bone marrow and spinal fluid are evaluated to stage the extent of disease
  • CT of chest, abdomen, and pelvis plus whole-body PET/CT are done for staging, without delaying treatment
  • Required labs include CBC with differential, ESR, a metabolic panel, coagulation studies, LDH, uric acid, hepatitis B serology, and HIV and pregnancy testing

If not this — what else fits (5)

  • Other CD10-positive B-cell malignancies can mimic it, among them DLBCL, high-grade B-cell or follicular lymphoma, and B-ALL
  • A low Ki-67 index under 90% together with BCL2 positivity points away from a Burkitt diagnosis
  • An MYC translocation does not confirm Burkitt lymphoma, since roughly 10% of DLBCL also carry it
  • B-ALL can resemble Burkitt lymphoma in size but typically has finer chromatin and expresses immaturity markers like CD34 and TdT
  • Burkitt-like lymphoma with 11q aberration lacks an MYC translocation but has a similar prognosis

SourceStatPearls "Burkitt Lymphoma" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

1

NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

A highly aggressive, fast-growing lymphoma (associated with EBV and HIV) that is an oncologic emergency requiring same-day referral to haematology/oncology; nothing is prescribed at primary-care level. - Refer, with advice

Paediatric dose

Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is implied.

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

A highly aggressive, fast-growing lymphoma (associated with EBV and HIV) that is an oncologic emergency requiring same-day referral to haematology/oncology; nothing is prescribed at primary-care level.

Cautions
  • RED FLAG - Airway compromise from massive head and neck lymphadenopathy: assess urgently and refer.
  • No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
  • RED FLAG - A rapidly growing jaw, abdominal or neck mass: refer urgently. Very rapid growth is itself urgent because of the tumour lysis risk, as are known HIV infection and abdominal pain or distension in a child.

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