Purpose: To assess the treatment and outcomes of patients with relapsed, refractory, or advanced Hodgkin lymphoma treated with consolidation or salvage radiotherapy.
Patients and methods: We studied all patients diagnosed with this profile treated by radiotherapy in our center between 2006 and 2019.
Results: A total of 33 patients who received external-beam radiotherapy for advanced (21%), relapsed (52%), or refractory (24%) Hodgkin lymphoma were studied. Median [interquartile range] age was 25 [22-38] years, with 11 women (33%). The follow-up after first-line treatment was 28 [10-53] months. Number of chemotherapy lines received before radiotherapy was 3 [1-4]. Fourteen patients (42%) had undergone autologous stem-cell transplantation before radiotherapy, and 2 patients were treated by radiotherapy alone. Nine patients (27%) were treated by involved-field radiotherapy, 17 (52%) by involved-site radiotherapy, 5 (17%) by involved-node radiotherapy, and 2 by other volumes. The acute toxicity profile was favorable, with grade 1 radiodermatitis (33%) or dysphagia (30%). Overall, 21 patients (64%) experienced prolonged complete response and 12 experienced relapse (36%) after radiotherapy. Median disease-free survival was 68.8 months.
Conclusions: External-beam radiotherapy should be considered an effective treatment modality for advanced, relapsed, or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma as part of a multimodal approach.
Keywords: Advanced disease; Autologous stem-cell transplantation; Helical tomotherapy; IMRT.
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