Excess long-term morbidity with ABVD and limited-field radiotherapy for early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma

Balancing disease control and toxicity from chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) when treating early-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is important. Available data on long-term toxicity after RT for cHL mostly refer to RT techniques no longer in use. A study in Sweden analyzed the risk of long-term excess morbitidy in a population-based cohort of patients with cHL uniformly treated with ABVD followed by radiotherapy with smaller fields than involved field (limited-field RT). The study found that compared with earlier cohorts the excess morbidity in terms of secondary cancer, diseases of the circulatory system, and diseases of the respiratory system was reduced, but not eliminated.