Chemotherapy Alone for Localized Non-Bulky Hodgkin Lymphoma

Combined modality therapy with radiation and chemotherapy has been the standard treatment for limited-stage HL. Long-term toxicities, including cardiac and disease and secondary cancers, s have been reported in multiple series with long follow-up. Lower doses and smaller fields may be less toxic, but mediastinal/cardiac radiation is unavoidable in most cases. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital lymphoma teams have now treated 74 patients with localized, non-bulky classical HL with chemotherapy as the only therapy. The median age of the series was 29 years (17–42). The M/F ratio was 33/41. The clinical stages were IA (10), IIA (56), IIB (9). The treatment consisted of ABVD × 6 cycles (70 pts), ABVD × 4 cycles (3 pts), and variants of ABVD (2 pts). The median F/U is 48+ months (4+–174+). One patient had primary refractory disease. Seven patients (median age 30, range 20–38) have relapsed (6, 10, 10, 11, 14, 20 and 63 months) whose original stage was IA (1), IIA (3), IIB (3). The progression-free survival at 4 years is 91%. All patients are alive. Six of seven patients received salvage RT and autologous stem cell transplantation, and only one has relapsed to date. In retrospect, all seven patients who relapsed from CR or CRu were FDG-PET negative at mid-cycle. Thus far, there has been no long-term, chemotherapy-related toxicity in the patients who remain in remission. 94% (62/66) asymptomatic patients remain in remission compared to 6/9 (67%) IIB patients.

Conclusion: In young adults with non-bulky, localized HL chemotherapy alone with ABVD can achieve excellent progression-free and overall survival, especially those asymptomatic at diagnosis. These data and previously published results indicate an equivalent long-term outcome when compared to combined modality trials but without the long-term risks of radiation therapy. Avoidance of radiation therapy may be even more important in the pediatric age group.