Hodgkin’s Disease in Childhood

Thirty-eight children with Hodgkin’s disease have been treated over the past 8 yr with either intensive radiotherapy or combination chemotherapy (MOPP), depending on their initial stage. The median survival of the entire group of children has not yet been reached, as 63% are still alive, but it will be in excess of 58 mo. Median survivals by stage are as follows: stage I, greater than 46 mo; stage II, greater than 46 mo; stage III, 35 mo; and stage IV, 26.7 mo. Although the numbers of children are small, these results appear significantly superior to published reports utilizing less intensive radiotherapy and single-agent chemotherapy and suggest that intensive radiotherapy for localized disease and combination chemotherapy for advanced disease may, at present, be the preferred forms of therapy for Hodgkin’s disease in childhood.