Treatment of early unfavorable hodgkin lymphoma

Abstract

Early unfavorable or intermediate-stage Hodgkin lymphoma usually includes patients in stages I and IIA with clinical risk factors such as large mediastinal mass, extranodal disease, high ESR, or more than three or four nodal areas involved. In addition, selected stage IIB patients are also included in this risk group. The treatment for these patients is based on four cycles of ABVD chemotherapy followed by involved-field radiotherapy or a more aggressive approach with two cycles of BEACOPP escalated followed by two cycles of ABVD. More recently, the use of PET to guide treatment intensity or the use of additional radiotherapy in PET-negative patients has been advocated. New drugs such as brentuximab vedotin or checkpoint inhibitors have been incorporated into clinical trials. This chapter will give you an overview on the recent and current treatment approaches and will highlight the discussion on PET-guided treatment and new drugs in this setting.