Hodgkin's disease

Abstract

Hodgkin’s disease (HD) is a disease of lymph nodes that has a predictable pattern of spread. The disease is unique in several respects. Most of the patients affected with this cancer are older children or young adults, and most are cured and will survive either to lead normal lives or to develop late sequelae of treatment. HD is usually very sensitive to both radiation and chemotherapy, which allows for many effective treatment approaches with either a single treatment modality or different combined modality regimens. The patterns of failure and toxicities of different treatment approaches vary, and the toxicities of both radiotherapy and various chemotherapy regimens are dose related. Because HD is one of the few malignancies in which there is a realistic chance of salvage in the event of first treatment failure, it is possible to choose a treatment option initially that produces a lower complication rate even though the risk of relapse may be higher. In this disease, perhaps more than in any other malignancy today, the clinician usually must choose among many treatment options and has the responsibility to consider not only the survival result, but also the late effects of the treatment choice (Donaldson 1984, 1990).