Dawaa Reference

Clinical reference

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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