Cancer Health Center

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Stage IV

In stage IV AIDS-related lymphoma, the cancer either:

• is found throughout one or more organs other than the lymph nodes and may be in lymph nodes near those organs; or
• is found in one organ other than the lymph nodes and has spread to lymph nodes far away from that organ.

Patients who are infected with the Epstein-Barr virus or whose AIDS-related lymphoma affects the bone marrow have an increased risk of the cancer spreading to the central nervous system (CNS).

For treatment, AIDS-related lymphomas are grouped based on where they started in the body, as follows:

Peripheral/systemic lymphoma

Lymphoma that starts in lymph nodes or other organs of the lymph system is called peripheral/systemic lymphoma. The lymphoma may spread throughout the body, including to the brain or bone marrow.

Primary CNS lymphoma

Primary CNS lymphoma starts in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Lymphoma that starts somewhere else in the body and spreads to the central nervous system is not primary CNS lymphoma.