Hodgkin Lymphoma

Abstract

Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphoid system that carries substantial importance in understanding the principles of cancer control for adolescent and young adult patients [1]. The disease typically involves lymph nodes with more disseminated disease patterns including the spleen, bone marrow, liver, and other extranodal sites. It is the most common cancer diagnosis in patients between the ages of 15 and 24 years and over 40 % of newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma patients will be between the ages of 15 and 34 years [2]. Hodgkin lymphoma was an initial setting for demonstrating the curative potentials of radiation treatment and combination chemotherapy and patients with recurrent Hodgkin lymphoma were among the first to receive long-term benefits from treatment with autologous stem cell transplantation [3]. The 5-year survival of adolescent and young adult Hodgkin lymphoma patients is now in excess of 90 % [2]. With such curative potential in a population free of comorbidities that would otherwise affect survival, the management of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma characterizes the challenges of optimizing the balance between maximizing the eradication of the cancer and minimizing the late effects associated with the treatments provided.