Treatment Results in Patients with Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Involved field radiation therapy does not improve the treatment results in patients with stage III and IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma who reach complete remission after chemotherapy. However, radiation therapy has been proven effective in treating Hodgkin's patients in partial remission, according to a new study presented November 5, 2001, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Hodgkin's disease/Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is a cancer that develops in the lymphatic system. Lymph nodes can be located on both sides of the diaphragm (the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen). HL may also spread to the bone marrow or other organs outside the lymphatic system (for instance lungs or liver). In patients with stage III HL, the disease is localized both above and below the diaphragm. In stage IV, there are also localizations outside the lymphatic system. The treatment usually includes chemotherapy or radiotherapy or both. The prognosis of HL has improved tremendously over the last decades.
From November 1989 to April 2000, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer's Lymphoma Group enrolled 736 patients in a phase III randomized trial. In the study, patients who had reached complete remission through chemotherapy were randomized to either receive no further treatment (no-RT) or to receive involved field radiation therapy (IFRT).
After a median follow-up up of 6 years, no significant differences were observed in the randomized patients. The 5-year relapse-free survival rate was 85 percent for no-RT patients and 87 percent for IFRT patients. The 5-year event-free survival rate was 82 percent for no-RT patients and 79 percent for IFRT patients. Meanwhile, the 5-year overall survival rate was 89 percent for no-RT patients and 85 percent for the IFRT group.
"The study shows that IFRT does not improve the treatment results in patients with advanced-stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma who were in complete remission after undergoing standard chemotherapy," said Berthe Aleman, M.D., a member of the Department of Radiation Oncology at The Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam presenting the study on behalf of the EORTC lymphoma group. "However, in partial responders after 6 cycles of chemotherapy, additional IFRT induces similar overall and event-free survival rates as those of patients in complete remission after chemotherapy."
If you would like a copy of the abstract titled "Involved Field Radiotherapy in Patients with Stage III/IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma: First Results of the Randomized EORTC Trial #20884" or to speak to the lead author of the study, Berthe Aleman, M.D., please call Katherine Egan Bennett at the ASTRO Press Room at the Moscone Convention Center at (415) 978-3717 or [email protected]. Alternatively, you can contact Lesley Nevers at ASTRO's headquarters at (703) 227-0141 or [email protected] for more information.
ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 6,700 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific base of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer and other diseases.
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