Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Expert Addresses Lymphoma in Wake of Recent Announcement from Actor Jeff Bridges

New Brunswick, N.J., October 20, 2020 – Lymphoma is a term for cancers that begin in the lymphatic system. The function of the lymphatic system is to drain excess tissue fluid called lymph. The lymphatic system also contains blood cells known as lymphocytes, which are important in fighting infection. Lymphoma is the growth of lymphocytes. There are two main types of lymphoma: Non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin Lymphoma. According to the American Cancer Society, about 77,240 people will be diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 8,480 with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2020. About 20,910 deaths will be caused by this type of cancer. 

Lymphoma expert from the Leukemia/Lymphoma/Hematologic Malignancies program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey is available for comment on this topic.

Expert available for comment:

Andrew M. Evens, DO, MSc, associate director for Clinical Services and Director of the Lymphoma Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute and medical director of the Oncology Service Line at RWJBarnabas Health is an international expert on lymphoma with clinical expertise and research interests fully dedicated to the field. He can discuss types of lymphoma (i.e., Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma), symptoms, treatment, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment. Rutgers Cancer Institute has a multitude of ongoing cutting-edge basic science, translational, clinical & epidemiologic research studies/programs in lymphoma and other blood cancers. Dr. Evens also manages a translational laboratory studying the biology of lymphoma to discover new and novel treatments for patients and can discuss the latest in research and treatment advances for lymphoma.  His research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health and the NCI since 2005. Dr. Evens is Co-Chair of the Lymphoma Committee for the ECOG-ACRIN cancer research group and is an elected member of the North American Scientific Advisory Board for the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) New Jersey Chapter.